GFAR Newsletter Issue 20, 09/2007
Newsletter date: 01/09/2007
]Editorial - The new GFAR Business Plan for 2007-2009
The new GFAR Business Plan for 2007-2009 is the fourth in the series since GFAR’s inception in 1996. Each business plan reflects what GFAR stakeholders perceive as critical issues in agricultural research for development and the action that the global ARD community should take to resolve them.
The activities endorsed in the new GFAR business plan by the GFAR stakeholders were guided by the need to shift agricultural research, education and extension systems from a narrow technological focus towards a more interactive, multidisciplinary, gender sensitive and integrated approach with focus on pro-poor, smallholder farmers and producers. This would be the basis to solve the inter-related and complex issues of poverty alleviation, food security and conservation of natural resources in a rapid and threatening global climate change context.
For the new business plan, GFAR stakeholders have re-aligned and consolidated GFAR’s Strategic Objectives. These now include consensus-building and advocacy for action on agricultural research and innovation priorities, promotion of global and regional partnerships for collaborative research and innovation; knowledge and communication for agricultural research and innovation and strengthening the Institutional capacities of GFAR and its Stakeholders.
The activities planned to meet the GFAR strategic objectives include a set of six new projects in addition to its ongoing activities. These projects are on advocacy on adaptation to climate change, transformation of the agricultural research, education and extension systems, linking smallholder producers to markets, adaptive research and transfer to farmers technologies for the management of on farm water use, promoting sustainable development in agricultural research systems and enabling small farmers’ access to knowledge for innovation. GFAR will also continue its global partnership projects and increase support to inter-regional networks. GFAR communications especially its EGFAR platform for information sharing and communication will be further strengthened.
The GFAR business plan is now available on the EGFAR website here.
GFAR Secretariat
News from the Secretariat
The first meeting of the Interim Steering Committee (ISC) for the GFAR Global Partnership Program (GPP) on Linking Farmers to Markets (LFM) was held at the GFAR Secretariat offices in Rome, in June 4-6, 2007.
News from the Regional Fora
News from the other stakeholders
ICM Corner
News from the Secretariat
Upcoming GFAR Statutory Meetings, Bejing, China
The next GFAR Statutory Meetings will be held in Bejing, China, from November 28th to December 1st 2007. In preparation of the meetings, the GFAR Secretariat has launched an electronic consultation on GFAR's program of activities for 2008 and beyond. ...
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News from the Secretariat - GPPs
Updates on the Linking Farmers to Markets GPP
The first meeting of the Interim Steering Committee (ISC) for the GFAR Global Partnership Program (GPP) on Linking Farmers to Markets (LFM) was held at the GFAR Secretariat offices in Rome, in June 4-6, 2007.
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News from the Regional Fora
News from the Regional Fora - AARINENA
AARINENA Executive Committee Meeting, Aleppo, 5 May 2007
AARINENA Executive Committee held its meeting in Aleppo, Syria at ICARDA on the 5th of May 2007 in conjunction with ICARDA Presentation Day. ...
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Regional Workshop on Agricultural Information Systems for ARD, Cairo, 27-30 May 2007
The workshop was held during the period 27-30 May 2007 with the participation of information management and networking specialists from Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Morocco, Sudan and Yemen, along with FAO and Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD). ...
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Fifth AARINENA ICT-RAIS Steering Committee Meeting, Egypt, 29 May 2007
In the framework of the workshop on Information Systems for Agricultural Research for Development, the Fifth AARINENA ICT-RAIS Steering Committee meeting was held in Cairo, Egypt on the 29th of May 2007. Representatives of the AARINENA RAIS-ICT Steering Committee from AARINENA 5 sub-regions and representatives of FAO, and AOAD attended the meeting. ...
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Third INCANA Steering Committee Meeting, Syria, 19-20 June 2007
The Third Steering Committee Meeting of Inter-regional Cotton Network in the Central Asia and North Africa (INCANA) was held in Damascus, Syria during the period 19-20 June 2007. The meeting was organized by the General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research (GCSAR) and INCANA Secretariat. ...
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News from the Regional Fora - APAARI
Expert Consultation on Biofuels
APAARI in collaboration with IRRI, CIMMYT and ICRISAT organized an expert consultation meeting on 27 – 29 August 2007. ...
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Asia-Pacific Agricultural Research Information System (APARIS), September 2007 update
APAARI in collaboration with GFAR-FAO organized the Sensitization and Awareness Building Workshop on ICT/ICM in ARD for the Leaders and Senior Managers of member NARS, held on 30th August 2007 at PCAARD, Philippines. ...
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Web-based Information Dissemination
As a part of its continuing activity, APCoAB website (www.apcoab.org) provides regular updates on developments in agricultural biotechnology with specific reference to the Asia-Pacific countries. ...
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News from the Regional Fora - CACAARI
Expert Consultation on Regional Research Needs Assessment in Central Asia and the Caucasus
A 'Regional Research NeedsAssessment'Workshop was convened in Tashkent in March 2007 to involve the eco-regional fora such as CACAARI, APAARI, AARINENA, together with GFAR, farmer associations and private sector organizations. It provided a unique opportunity for developing a common vision on the nature and extent of agricultural problems. ...
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News from the Regional Fora - EFARD
PAEPARD transcontinental meeting
The European and African fora for agricultural research for development (ARD) are building a platform of partnership on ARD. The purpose is to facilitate knowledge exchange for stronger partnership between the two continents, as an example of inter-regional partnership. ...
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News from the Regional Fora - FARA
FARA Fourth General Assembly, June 2007
FARA held the Africa Agricultural Science Week (AASW) and Fourth General Assembly (GA) at the Sandton Convention Center in Johannesburg, South Africa, from June 10-16, 2007. This event was the result of more than a year of planning and close collaboration between the FARA Executive Committee, the FARA Secretariat, the South African Ministry of Agriculture ...
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FARA Strategic Plan developed and endorsed
Between March and June, Secretariat staff drafted the new strategy, drawing upon expert input to ensure congruence between the new strategies of CORAF/WECARD and ASARECA, and to identify key background issues that should be included in the plan. ...
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News from the Regional Fora - FORAGRO
FORAGRO-IICA ICM advocacy project
This FORAGRO-IICA project proposes the urgent need for raising awareness among decision makers on the importance of managing adequately the technical information in agricultural research and technological innovation organizations of Latin America and the Caribbean. ...
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New publication: "Concepts, Policy Elements, and Regional Strategies for the Development of Institutional Innovation"
The study provides the bases for developing a conceptual framework for institutional innovations, with recommendations for a cooperation agenda aimed at revamping the institutional architecture of national and regional agricultural research. To that end, the study outlines the institutional innovations needed ...
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News from the other stakeholders
WARDA, CIAT, IRRI: Joint Declaration on Programmatic Alignment
WARDA, CIAT and IRRI affirm their commitment to bring together the best of science and their experience in Asia, Latin America and Africa to address the major challenges facing Africa's rice sector. ...
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International Conference on Organic Agriculture and Food Security organized by FAO in May 2007 in Rome.
'The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) should give more priority to organic agriculture'. This was the strong message from the International Conference on Organic Agriculture and Food Security, organized by the FAO at its headquarters in Rome, Italy on 3-5 May 2007. ...
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Oasis Builds Momentum in Montpellier
The Oasis initiative to combat desertification and dryland degradation organized a global workshop during 20-22 August hosted by CIRAD and IRD at the CIRAD campus in Montpellier, France. The workshop strengthened global partnerships while developing a pre-proposal for CGIAR Challenge Programme consideration. ...
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ICM Corner
2nd Expert Consultation on International Information Systems for Agricultural Science and Technology (IISAST)
The 2nd Expert Consultation on International Information Systems for Agricultural Science and Technology (IISAST) was held on 23 – 24 September 2007 in FAO, Rome, and organized by seven organizations CGIAR, CTA, DFID (UK), FAO, GFAR, IAALD, MAE (France). ...
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EGFAR Taskforce meeting, Rome, 26 September 2007
The 1st meeting of the EGFAR Taskforce was held in the forenoon on September 26th in Rome. The setting up of the Taskforce was planned under the ICM4ARD GPP Project Plan and its main terms of reference consist in guiding the development of EGFAR, of the ARD Web Ring and ...
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4th ICM4ARD Inter-Regional Consultation, Rome, 26 September 2007
On September 26th the 4th Inter-Regional consultation on Information and Communications Management for Agricultural Research for Development (ICM4ARD) was held in Rome, during the e-Agriculture Week. This was the occasion for a review of the project, which highlighted some major achievements ...
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GFAR at Web2forDev Conference
The Web2forDev Conference, held in Rome from September 25th to 27th 2007, during the e-Agriculture Week, focused on the need to understand and grasp the new Web 2.0 technologies to further improve networking, collaborating and exchanging knowledge in the field of rural development and natural resource management. ...
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GFAR participaton in the e-Agriculture Week
GFAR participated in several events taking place during the e-Agriculture Week in Rome. Some of them, as the 2nd Expert Consultation on IISAST, the 4th inter-regional consultation on ICM4ARD, the EGFAR Taskforce and the Web2forDev Conference, are covered in other articles in this issue. Other important meetings in which we participated were ...
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