25 research outputs found
The impact of research partnerships on community development projects : a case study of the Limpopo Basin Development Challenge Programme
No full textDissertation (MSocSc)--University of Pretoria, 2015.The concept of partnership has in the last decade emerged as being fundamental for successful poverty eradication. The importance of partnerships in development efforts is reflected in high level regional and global commitments and initiatives such as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) of 2001, the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness of 2005, the Accra Agenda for Action of 2008 and the Busan Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation of 2011.
With the emergence of the partnership approach to development, there has also been a significant change in focus and direction of development approaches with new approaches such as Research for Development becoming prominent. Partnerships in Research for Development projects are viewed as important means for contributing to knowledge generation resulting in better and improved services, and development programmes. Although partnerships are believed to be essential in achieving development outcomes, little is known about their impact on the communities which their research is supposed to improve.
This thesis examines the impact of research for development partnerships using the Challenge Programme on Water and Food’s (CPWF) Limpopo Basin Development Challenge Programme (LBDC) as a case study. The LBDC was organized into four interlinked technical research projects and one coordination project (L1-L5). The diverse range of partners in the LBDC evident in the range of disciplines and sectors represented in the partnership presented an excellent case study into how different organizations with undoubtedly different mandates come together to work on research for development programmes.
The objectives of the study were: to determine the key steps for establishing successful research partnerships; examine how partnerships are communicated to communities and relevant stakeholders paying particular attention to the different communication approaches used and the challenges experienced; assess the success of the partnership in achieving its objectives and the contribution of the partnership to the development of the community; and identify valuable lessons that can be considered by those wanting to replicate, and apply of the partnership approach to other projects.
The findings are based on primary and secondary data collected using in-depth semi-structured interviews with 19 LBDC programme partners, qualitative document analysis and participant observation. Results indicate that largely the LBDC partnership was successful in delivering on its objectives as the programme was able to raise awareness of the most up to date available research evidence on agricultural water management and results were shared with basin authorities.
Results further support existing knowledge on partnerships and they confirm many of the observations and claims made by established commentators in this field regarding good practice in partnerships. It is clear that the establishment of partnerships is a process that has to be well thought out, the importance of communication within and outside the partnership and external role and stakeholder engagement at all phases of the partnership and especially in monitoring and evaluating the progress of the partnership’s work is crucial. Lessons and recommendations from the study could be valuable to development professionals who carry out their research and development work in partnership.Anthropology and ArchaeologyUnrestricte
En ligne Spore n° 193 Juin-Août 2019 : Jeunes & Emploi - L'agriculture plutôt que l'émigration
No full textSommaire du dossier : - Emplois : Comment l'agriculture peut contrecarrer la migration des jeunes - Une seconde chance pour des jeunes ruraux du Mali - Interview : Sithembile Ndema Mwamakamba : Priorité à l'implication des jeunes dans les technologies et l'innovation - Reportage : Afrique de l'Est : La téléréalité attire les jeunes dans les champs - Sénégal : Les bonnes pratiques agricoles permettent de freiner la migration En savoir plus : https://spore.cta.int/fr/issue/jeunes-emploi-l-agric..
Policy Considerations for African Food Systems: Towards the United Nations 2021 Food Systems Summit
No full textAchieving food and nutrition security and ending hunger is a complex and multi-faceted global challenge, which requires urgent attention, particularly in Africa. To eliminate hunger, the continent needs to transition to new sustainable, inclusive, and resilient food systems that deliver nutritious food and a healthy planet for all. This paper discusses challenges and opportunities highlighted during the “Food Systems Transformation to Address the SDGs” session convened by the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) and partners at the 8th World Sustainability Forum (WSF2020) held in September 2020. The paper reflects on how African food systems need to change to achieve the food systems related and interconnected the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It also presents issues for consideration at the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit. Key considerations include (i) the realization that nutrition insecurity is not food insecurity, (ii) the need for Africa to actualize its potential, (iii) the need to demystify policy development processes; (iv) the need to invest in better measurements and indicators; and (v) the need to create nature-based climate-smart solution
Climate Smart Agriculture: More Than Technologies Are Needed to Move Smallholder Farmers Toward Resilient and Sustainable Livelihoods
No full textClimate Smart Agriculture (CSA) is defined as agricultural practices that sustainably increase productivity and system resilience while reducing greenhouse gas emissions1. CSA helps ensure that climate change adaptation and mitigation are directly incorporated into agricultural development planning and investment strategies. Our perspective on CSA is sustainable agriculture, based upon integrated management of water, land and ecosystems at landscape scale.
CSA is being widely promoted as the future of African agriculture and as a viable answer to climate change. Because agriculture remains key to development in Africa, CSA has the potential to increase productivity and resilience while reducing the vulnerability of hundreds of millions of smallholder farmers. CSA can benefit smallholder farmers directly by increasing efficiency of precious inputs such as labour, seeds and fertilizers, increasing food security, and opportunities for income generation. By protecting ecosystems and landscapes, CSA helps protect natural resources for future generations.
Yet, CSA technologies and approaches alone will not increase resilience or improve livelihoods of significant numbers of small holders who survive within complex systems. Decades and hundreds of millions of dollars invested in research, development and technology transfer have not transformed African smallholders. Evidence shows that top down command and control systems for technology diffusion do not generate sustainable change
Kenya agricultural policy profile
No full textThis paper aims to provide an overview of Kenyan policies related to agriculture and climate change adaptation and mitigation in preparation for the Kenya National Policy Dialogue on 12 November 2022 in Nairobi, Kenya. The Dialogue is a joint programme with CGIAR Initiative on Diversification of East and Southern Africa led by International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Southern Africa, the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) South Africa, and the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) Kenya. The paper provides an overview of the economic and administrative profile of the country and general overview of the country’s economic status and agricultural and climate change policies that will be critically debated during the Dialogue
Zambia agricultural policy profile
No full textThis paper aims to provide an overview of Zambian policies related to agriculture and climate adaptation in preparation for the Zambia National Policy Dialogue, scheduled for 18 August 2022 in Lusaka, Zambia. The dialogue is a joint programme with CGIAR Initiative on Diversification of East and Southern Africa led by International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Southern Africa, the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) South Africa, and Agricultural Consultative Forum (ACF) Zambia. The paper includes an overview of the economic and administrative profile of the country and a descriptive overview of the agricultural and climate policies that are expected to be critically debated at the Dialogue
Kenya National Policy Dialogue summary report
No full textTo address the knowledge and coordination gaps and foster an enabling policy and investment environment, the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN), together with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), and the local partner, the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) hosted the Kenya National Policy Dialogue at ILRI in Nairobi on 21 November 2022. The dialogue is part of the CGIAR initiative: Diversification and Intensification in East and Southern Africa, launched by CGIAR
Irrigating Africa: policy barriers and opportunities for enhanced productivity of smallholder farmers
No full textAfrican governments have ambitious plans to expand irrigated agriculture, though existing smallholder schemes have largely failed to use land and water sustainably or become profitable. Six government-owned irrigation schemes in Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe were assessed to identify common policy barriers and opportunities for higher productivity among smallholder farmers. Issues like insecure land tenure systems, unclear institutional arrangements and poor access to markets have contributed to limited profitability. Reform of currently insecure land tenure, strengthening farmer organizations and reforming policies are recommended so that governments step back from scheme management and foster market linkages to enable more profitable irrigated agriculture
