Study on the East Africa Dairy Development project provides insights into agricultural innovation processes

Milk reception at Nyala dairy plant in Kenya (photo credit: East Africa Dairy Development project)

A new study on agricultural innovation systems takes an in-depth look at the East Africa Dairy Development project and its innovative approach to enhancing dairy farmers' access to inputs, credit and animal health services.

The study, published in the June 2013 issue of the journal Agricultural Systems, was lead authored by Catherine Kilelu, a PhD student at Wageningen University who was hosted at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) as a graduate fellow.

Started in January 2008, the East Africa Dairy Development project is working in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda to transform the lives of 179,000 families (about 1 million people) by doubling household dairy income in 10 years through integrated interventions in dairy production, market access and knowledge application.

The project is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and implemented by Heifer International, African Breeders Services - Total Cattle Management, TechnoServe, the World Agroforestry Centre and ILRI.

The project helped set up dairy farmer business associations with milk chilling plants. These serve as local business hubs where farmers can easily access credit, farm inputs, artificial insemination services, animal feeds as well as training on dairy production.

Following are the key highlights of the study:

• Innovation platforms support co-evolution of innovation.
• Innovation platforms can be considered sets of intermediaries.
• Dynamism and unpredictability of innovation requires platforms to be adaptive.
• Feedback and learning in platforms needs to be better monitored.
• Agricultural innovation policies should be better tailored to co-evolution.

New online resource links value chain researchers and practitioners for improved knowledge sharing

The CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions and Markets has launched a new online resource that links agricultural value chain researchers and field practitioners so that the methods and approaches used for analyzing value chains in developing countries may be better targeted and adapted to suit specific conditions in the field.

The new AgriFood Chain Toolkit is an online resource that brings together the researchers who develop tools and methods for value chain analysis and the people who use the tools in the field.

The toolkit also supports a community of practice, bringing together various stakeholders to review, assess and improve value chain approaches so as to come up with better-suited tools for value chain analysis and development.

“There are too few links existing between value chain researchers and value chain practitioners. The AgriFood chain toolkit is designed to help researchers and practitioners overcome this challenge,” said Jo Cadilhon, an agricultural economist at the International Livestock Research Institute who was involved in developing the toolkit.

The AgriFood Chain Toolkit is based on two main online knowledge-sharing tools:

• An electronic document repository: This contains links to documents and websites on quantitative methods of value chain analysis, capacity building of value chain stakeholders and several case studies of agricultural supply chains in developing countries. Most of the publications are open access documents.

• The AgriFood Chain Toolkit Dgroup: This online discussion group is the platform to go to in order to ask for help when looking for a specific value chain tool to suit a specific field context or to provide feedback on the documents and websites found in the document repository.

Find out more by browsing the document repository or sign up to join the AgriFood Chain Toolkit Dgroup.

ILRI presents at the Ecohealth 2012 conference

Farmer Ma Thi Puong feeds her pigs on her farm near the northern town of Mieu Vac, Vietnam. Recent studies show that Ecohealth approaches are useful in assessing the prevalence of emerging zoonotic diseases in Vietnam (photo credit: ILRI/Stevie Mann).

EcoHealth is an emerging, multi-disciplinary field of study that examines how ecosystem changes affect human health so as to prevent new diseases from emerging.

International experts in this field met in Kunming, China from 15 to 18 October 2012 for the 4th biennial conference of the International Association for Ecology and Health (Ecohealth 2012). The theme of the conference was "Sustaining Ecosystems, Supporting Health".

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) was represented at Ecohealth 2012 by a team of scientists working on food safety, zoonoses and emerging infectious diseases in the Southeast Asia region. Below are links to a selection of their presentations:

Applying participatory approach to study zoonoses in provinces of South Vietnam: Experiences and lessons learned

Ecohealth approaches in prevention of emerging and re-emerging zoonotic diseases in southern Vietnam: A retrospective study 2008-2011

Ecosystem approaches to the better management of zoonotic emerging infectious diseases in Southeast Asia (EcoZD): Inputs, throughputs and outputs

Field building leadership initiative: Advancing Ecohealth in Southeast Asia

Framing the problem of emerging zoonotic disease risk using a One Health approach

Hygienic practices and microbial contamination of small-scale poultry slaughterhouses in peri-urban areas, Hanoi, Vietnam

Mapping the interface of poverty, emerging markets and zoonoses

South East Asia One Health University Network (SEAOHUN): Lessons learned

Strategies for adopting EcoHealth theory and practice: Lessons from action‐research on zoonotic diseases in Southeast Asia

New ILRI website features research on agriculture associated diseases

Cattle coming in from the fields in the evening in Lhate Village, Chokwe, Mozambique (photo credit: ILRI/Stevie Mann). 

If you are interested in research on the links between agriculture and health, then check out the new AgHealth website, a web portal on research activities by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and partners on agriculture-associated diseases.

Prevention and control of agriculture-associated diseases is one of four research components of the collaborative  CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition for Health, which is led by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

The other three components are: value chains for enhanced nutrition; biofortification; and integrated agriculture, nutrition and health programs and policies.

ILRI leads the research component on prevention and control of agriculture-associated diseases, which has over 20 projects under four major research activities:

• Emerging infectious diseases
• Food safety
• Neglected zoonoses
• One Health/Ecohealth

For more information on ILRI's work on agriculture-associated diseases, please contact the research component leader Delia Grace (d.grace @ cgiar.org).

ILRI presents at the 28th International Conference of Agricultural Economists

Cattle being watered at the Ghibe River in southwestern Ethiopia. The country's livestock sector supports the livelihoods of a large proportion of rural households (photo credit: ILRI/Stevie Mann).

On 18-24 August 2012, some 1000 agricultural economics experts from around the world met in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil for the 28th triennial International Conference of Agricultural Economists. The conference was organized by the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE).

Under the theme, The Global Bio-Economy, the conference discussed several global challenges affecting the bio-economy, including food insecurity, natural resource management and food price crises, and possible ways of addressing these challenges.

A team of researchers from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) attended the meeting and presented papers on various aspects of agricultural economics in developing countries, including the role of livestock in the Ethiopian economy, the competitiveness of smallholder pig producers in Vietnam and economic impact assessment of avian influenza control measures in Nigeria.

Other presentations covered the opportunities for intra-regional trade in staple food crops in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) region, the effects of decentralized forest management on household farm forestry in Kenya and the Gender, Agriculture and Assets Project, a research initiative jointly led by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and ILRI aimed at better understanding gender and asset dynamics in agricultural development programs.

International experts call for improved nutrition and health through agriculture

There is need to better understand the linkages between human, animal and environmental health so that we can better manage and mitigate the risks of diseases that are associated with agriculture.

This call was made by Delia Grace, a veterinary epidemiologist and food safety expert with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), during a seminar on leveraging agriculture to enhance nutrition and health hosted by the CGIAR Fund Office in Washington, DC on 5 June 2012.

Grace heads ILRI's research team on animal health, food safety and zoonoses and doubles up as leader of the agriculture-associated diseases component of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health which is led by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Jonathan Wadsworth, executive secretary of the CGIAR Fund Council, chaired the seminar which featured presentations by John McDermott, director of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health; Laurian Unnevehr, IFPRI senior research fellow; and Howarth Bouis, program director of HarvestPlus.

Find out more from this article by the CGIAR Fund Office or view the video of the presentation below.

Linking smallholder women farmers to markets: Which approaches work best?

The first-ever global conference on women in agriculture was held on 13-15 March 2012 in New Delhi, India. The conference gathered women farmers, researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders from all over the world to discuss current and emerging gender-related issues in agriculture and research, as well as derive lessons for future sustainable, gender-sensitive development.

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) was represented at the conference by Jemimah Njuki, leader of ILRI's Poverty, Gender and Impact team.

Njuki's presentation, Linking women farmers to markets: Patterns of market participation, decision making and intra-household income management, explored various approaches to linking smallholder women to markets as a critical pathway towards their economic empowerment.

View the presentation below.

Linking farmers to markets: Patterns of market participation, decision making and intra-household income management

View more presentations from ILRI

Global conference to discuss empowering women for inclusive growth in agriculture

What are women’s specific needs for empowerment in agriculture? What initiatives are in place to effectively link women to markets? What are the policy, institutional, infrastructural and financial constraints affecting agricultural diversity to enhance income?  What solutions exist to reduce women’s drudgery relating to agricultural operations and household needs?

These are just a few of the questions that will be up for discussion at the first-ever global conference on women in agriculture to be held on 13-15 March 2012 at the National Agricultural Science Centre (NASC) Complex, New Delhi, India.

Under the theme, Empowering women for inclusive growth in agriculture, the conference brings together women farmers, researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders from all over the world to discuss current and emerging gender-related issues in agriculture and research, as well as derive lessons for future sustainable, gender-sensitive development.

Discussions will take place under the following themes:

• assessing women’s  empowerment in agriculture;
• agricultural innovations for reducing drudgery;
• linking women to markets;
• the role of women in household food and nutritional security;
• policies and services to increase women’s access to assets, resources and knowledge;
• the impact of and responses to climate-change related risks and uncertainties; and
• strengthening capacity building and partnerships.

The conference will also develop a framework for action to integrate and empower women for inclusive growth and development through an enduring global partnership program on gender in agriculture.

At the conference, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) will be represented by Jemimah Njuki, leader of the Poverty, Gender and Impact team. She is one of the speakers at the parallel session on linking women to markets.

The conference is organized by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the Asia‐Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI) with support from the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) under the Gender in Agriculture Partnership.

For more information, please visit the conference website.

Agriculture-associated diseases featured in new book on agriculture for nutrition and health

On 10-12 February 2011, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) organized a conference in New Delhi, India with the theme, Leveraging agriculture for improving nutrition and health.

To commemorate the first anniversary of the conference, IFPRI has published a book which is a compilation of the background papers originally commissioned for the event and subsequently peer-reviewed and revised.

The 23 chapters in Reshaping Agriculture for Nutrition and Health, edited by Shenggen Fan and Rajul Pandya-Lorch, examine how much more agriculture could do to improve human well-being if it included specific policies, actions, and interventions to achieve health and nutrition goals; what kinds of changes would maximize agriculture’s contribution to human health and nutrition; and how human health and nutrition could contribute to a productive and sustainable agricultural system.

One of the chapters, Agriculture-associated diseases: Adapting agriculture to improve human health by John McDermott and Delia Grace, examines the range of agriculture-associated diseases and explores opportunities for shaping agriculture to improve health outcomes, and related policy implications.

McDermott joined IFPRI in October 2011 as the director of the CGIAR Research Program (CRP) on Agriculture for Improved Nutrition and Health (CRP4). He was previously the deputy director general for research at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).

Grace leads ILRI's research team on animal health, food safety and zoonoses. She is also the program manager for the component of the Nutrition and Health CRP that focuses on prevention and control of agriculture-associated diseases.

Below is an excerpt from the chapter:

"Agriculture and health are intimately linked. Many diseases have agricultural roots —food-borne diseases, water-associated diseases, many zoonoses, most emerging infectious diseases, and occupational diseases associated with agrifood chains. These diseases create an especially heavy burden for poor countries, with far-reaching impacts. This chapter views agriculture-associated disease as the dimension of public health shaped by the interaction among humans, animals, and agroecoystems. This conceptual approach presents new opportunities for shaping agriculture to improve health outcomes, in the short and long term. Understanding the multiple burdens of disease is a first step in its rational management. As agriculture-associated diseases occur at the interface of human health, animal health, agriculture, and ecosystems, addressing them often requires systems-based thinking and multidisciplinary approaches. These approaches, in turn, require new ways of working and institutional arrangements. Several promising initiatives demonstrate convincing benefits of new ways of working across disciplines, despite the considerable barriers to cooperation."

Download the full book here (in its entirety or by individual chapters)

Tool improves understanding of dynamics of regional trade in agricultural inputs

Mozambican women threshing sorghum. A new tool for tracking trade in agricultural inputs in eastern and southern Africa will lead to better understanding of trade dynamics in the region (photo credit: ILRI/Mann).

Agricultural policymakers and other practitioners in eastern and southern Africa will be able to better understand the dynamics of intra-regional trade in seeds, pesticides and herbicides through a new tool that has been developed to track the volume and value of trade in agricultural inputs in the region.

The tool was developed by the Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS) for Eastern and Central Africa – which is hosted by the Market Opportunities Theme of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) – in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and several national and regional partners. It was presented at a workshop held in Nairobi, Kenya on 16 November 2011.

"There is optimism that continued interaction with the parties involved will help us to further understand the elements of trade and agricultural inputs in the region to continue to improve agricultural productivity and production, and sustainable food security," the workshop organizers said.

Read more on the ReSAKSS blog.

International conference to discuss strategies to boost agricultural productivity and food security in Africa

A Malawian farmer tends to her maize crop. Farmer organizations will be among participants at an international conference on improving agricultural productivity for achieving food security in Africa. The conference takes place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 1-3 November 2011 (photo credit: ILRI/Mann).

Farmers, researchers, policymakers, academics and development partners are among some of the participants who will gather at the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 1-3 November 2011 for an international conference under the theme, Increasing agricultural productivity and enhancing food security in Africa: New challenges and opportunities.

The conference is organized by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), in conjunction with the African Union Commission, the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and will feature plenary and parallel sessions, discussions of conference papers, and moderated panel discussions of specific issues.

Scientists from the Market Opportunities Theme of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) are scheduled to present two papers during the parallel session on 'Appropriate capacities, investments, institutions and policies for supporting agriculture'.

Ayele Gelan will present a paper titled, Integrating livestock in the CAADP framework: policy analysis using a dynamic computable general equilibrium model for Ethiopia and Francis Wanyoike will present on Pro-poor livestock development: analysis of performance of projects and lessons.

To find out more about the conference, please visit http://addis2011.ifpri.info

Fighting famine in the Horn of Africa: What role for research on livestock market access?

Arid lands in the drought-stricken Horn of Africa: What role can agricultural research play in finding lasting solutions to the problem of drought and famine in the region? (Photo: ILRI)

The current drought in the Horn of Africa is the worst ever in 60 years and some 13 million people have been affected by the attendant food shortage.

Amid several calls for governments and policymakers to come up with long-term interventions to this recurring problem, a team of experts within the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) will meet at the Nairobi headquarters of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) on Thursday 1 September 2011 with a few selected development partners to discuss how agricultural research by the CGIAR can provide long-term solutions towards mitigating the effects of drought  and  improving and sustaining agricultural livelihoods in the drylands.

The topics to be addressed include:

• Promising options and innovations to help farmers become more resilient and food-secure in the face of weather and other shocks;
• The role of infrastructure and access to viable, functioning livestock markets in food security and prices;
• Whether drought-tolerant crops and large-scale irrigation are the answer;
• Whether pastoralism is a driver of drought-induced food insecurity or a buffer against it; and
• Policies that are needed, and at what levels, to ensure that recommendations and innovations for drought-prone areas are put in place in those areas that need them most.

Among the panelists are Lloyd Le Page, Chief Executive Officer of the CGIAR Consortium; Mark Gordon, Co-Chair of the UN Somalia Food Cluster, World Food Programme; and Namanga Ngongi, President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

The briefing is open to the press and the public and will be held from 1030hours to 1200hours. Please visit the CGIAR Consortium website for details and to RSVP.

For more information on this topic, and for the live video and chat link during the briefing, please visit the Horn of Africa page on the CGIAR Consortium website.

You may also follow @CGIARconsortium on Twitter (Briefing Twitter hash tag: #Ag4HoA).

ILRI in the news: Scientist Delia Grace features on BBC Radio 4's Farming Today program

At a global conference on leveraging agriculture for improving nutrition and health held in India early February 2011, veterinary scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), John McDermott, deputy director general in charge of research, and Delia Grace, veterinary epidemiologist and food safety specialist with the Market Opportunities theme, presented a report on agriculture-associated diseases like avian influenza that affect humans, animals and ecosystems.

They called for the use of multi-disciplinary, systems-based approaches, such as One Health and EcoHealth, among other strategies in order to achieve better health outcomes.

Here is the link to the policy brief, Agriculture-associated diseases: Adapting agriculture to improve human health.

The BBC Radio 4 interviewed Delia Grace on the Farming Today program on 7 March 2011 where she talked about the increasing risk of zoonotic diseases as more people keep more livestock, and what can be done to mitigate the impacts of these diseases.

Below is the link to a post on the ILRI Clippings blog written by Susan MacMillan, Head of ILRI's Public Awareness Unit, with the transcript of the interview.

BBC’s ‘Farming Today’ interviews ILRI’s Delia Grace on links between farm animals and human diseases

ILRI in the news: Call for new approaches against livestock diseases that affect human health

Young women herd goats in Rajasthan, India: Multi-sectoral approaches are needed in the fight against animal diseases that affect humans. (Photo credit: ILRI/Mann)

The intimate linkages between agriculture, nutrition and health were the focus of discussion at a recent global conference organized by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in New Delhi, India from 10-12 Februrary 2011.

The theme of the conference was "Leveraging agriculture for improving nutrition and health". Some 1000 participants from the agriculture, health and nutrition sectors attended, representing various academic, research, policy, development, governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Among the featured presentations was one by veterinary scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Dr John McDermott, ILRI's deputy director general in charge of research, and Dr Delia Grace, veterinary epidemiologist and food safety specialist with ILRI's Market Opportunities theme.

In their presentation on agriculture-associated diseases, McDermott and Grace called for the adoption of multi-disciplinary approaches to tackling these emerging infectious diseases that are a threat to humans, animals, agriculture and ecosystems.

A summary may be found in this ILRI policy brief titled, Agriculture-associated diseases: Adapting agriculture to improve human health.

Below are links to related media coverage:

The Guardian's Poverty Matters blog
Animal farming and human health are intimately linked

The Economist
Hot spots: How changing farming habits threaten public health

SciDev.Net
Livestock surge may harm human health

Voice of America (VoANews.com)
Growing global appetite for meat, milk presents health risks

In addition, here's a related story from the ILRI News blog
Livestock boom risks aggravating animal ‘plagues,’ poses growing threat to food security and health of world’s poor

Projects share strategies to increase access of women farmers to agricultural markets and services

Mozambican women selling fruit. Innovative approaches can enhance access of small-scale women farmers to vital markets for their produce. (Photo credit ILRI/Mann)

The recently concluded AgriGender 2011 workshop on gender and market-oriented agriculture which took place at the Addis Ababa campus of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) from 31 January to 2 February 2011 featured discussions on experiences from research on how best to increase the access of small-scale farmers, many of whom are women, to agricultural markets and value chains.

ILRI’s Market Opportunities theme was represented at the workshop by Dr Isabelle Baltenweck, agricultural economist with ILRI’s research team on smallholder competitiveness in changing markets and Dr Ranjitha Puskur, head of ILRI’s research team on innovation in livestock systems.

Below are links to their presentations on lessons learned from two projects, collaboratively undertaken by ILRI and partners, which adopted innovative approaches towards enhancing the access of smallholder farmers to agricultural inputs, services and markets.

Using hubs to increase smallholder farmers’ access to services: Experiences from the East Africa Dairy Development project
By Isabelle Baltenweck and Immaculate Omondi
An overview of how the East Africa Dairy Development project is using an approach involving community-based hubs to bring dairy services closer to small-scale farmers in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. This innovative approach has greatly enhanced the access of dairy farmers to agro-veterinary inputs, animal health services and milk markets.

The role of gender in crop value chains in Ethiopia
By Lemlem Aregu, Ranjitha Puskur and Clare Bishop Sambrook
Presentation of results of a gender analysis by the project, Improving Productivity and Market Success of Ethiopian farmers (IPMS) which examined the influence of gender in crop production, marketing, decision-making and access to services and technologies. Potential barriers to women’s and men’s participation in market-led development initiatives are identified and remedial actions to overcome these barriers recommended. The IPMS project was involved in participatory commodity development using a value chain approach.

Strategies for increasing women’s participation in agricultural value chain development: Lessons from IPMS experiences
By Lemlem Aregu and Ranjitha Puskur
An overview of approaches used by the IPMS project to increase women’s participation in agricultural value chains and enhance the access to knowledge and services. Based on the lessons learned from the project, several recommendations are proposed that may assist in planning and management of similar projects.

Outcomes of women’s participation in market-oriented community development: Evidence from IPMS
By Ranjitha Puskur and Lemlem Aregu
An overview of an assessment of the immediate socio-economic outcomes for women farmers who participated in IPMS project interventions in value chains involving poultry, small ruminants, dairy, feed and forage, apiculture, fruits and vegetables.

View more presentations from the AgriGender 2011 workshop on the ILRI Slideshare page at http://www.slideshare.net/tag/agrigender2011.

Find out more about ILRI’s gender-related research on the ILRI Gender and Agriculture blog at http://agrigender.wordpress.com.

International workshop to discuss strategies for enhancing women's participation in agricultural value chains

Making agricultural markets work for women: A Mozambican woman prepares her agricultural produce for sale. (Photo credit: ILRI/Mann)

Agricultural researchers, development practitioners and policymakers gather at the principal campus of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for a three-day workshop on gender and market-oriented agriculture beginning today, 31 January 2011.

Participants will discuss the role of gender in enhancing market-oriented smallholder agriculture in developing countries.

The meeting will also present evidence from research on strategies with potential for increasing the access of smallholder women farmers to agricultural commodity value chains.

The workshop is hosted by ILRI on behalf of a project of the Government of Ethiopia implemented by ILRI called Improving Productivity and Market Success of Ethiopian Farmers (IPMS).

ILRI’s Market Opportunities theme is represented by Dr Ranjitha Puskur, head of the research team on innovation in livestock systems, and Dr Isabelle Baltenweck, agricultural economist with the research team on smallholder competitiveness in changing markets.

Dr Puskur is co-author of a number of presentations on women's participation in commodity value chain development and market-oriented smallholder agriculture while Dr Baltenweck will present on experiences from the East Africa Dairy Development Project which is encouraging the use of dairy hubs to enhance access to services by smallholder farmers.

The workshop programme is available at http://agrigender.wikispaces.com/Programme.

For more information, please visit the ILRI Gender and Agriculture blog at http://agrigender.wordpress.com/tag/agrigender2011 or search for #agrigender2011 on Twitter.

Also check out this ILRI News blog post, ‘What will it take for women farmers to break away from the hearth–and into the marketplace?’ by Susan MacMillan, head of ILRI’s Public Awareness Unit.

AGRA-ILRI international conference clarifies priority actions needed to develop markets for African smallholders

A major international conference, held 13–15 May 2009 in Nairobi, brought together 150 of the world’s and Africa’s leading scholars and development experts to clarify priority actions that must be taken to unleash the potential of the continent’s smallholder agricultural sector.

The conference was sponsored by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).

Dr Akinwumi Adesina, AGRA's Vice President for Policy and Partnerships, makes his opening remarks. ILRI's Markets Theme Director, Steve Staal, is seated second left. Kenya's Agriculture Minister, Hon. William Ruto, is seated far right.

The tone for the conference was set by Kenya’s Minister of Agriculture, the Honourable William Ruto, who opened the meeting by challenging the group to identify and prioritize concrete actions that will, over time, lead to more efficient and effective markets that bring benefits both to producers and consumers across Africa.

The ensuing and often lively debate and discussions led to a number of key conference outcomes that will be made widely available in the near future.

Conference participants comprised a wide range of representatives from all along (and beyond) the African agricultural value chain.

Ravi Prabhu facilitates one of the discussions. Ravi is the Coordinator of the CGIAR Regional Plan for Collective Action in Eastern and Southern Africa, the Alliance of the CGIAR centres.

Intergovernmental and sub-regional bodies in Africa, including NEPAD, CAADP, COMESA and ASARECA, served as featured speakers and participated in panel discussions and numerous parallel working sessions.

International funding agencies, including the African Development Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the World Bank contributed early and often to conference discussions.

The UN World Food Programme, along with a wide range of private/public sector organizations – including bankers, agro-dealers, seed companies, grain councils, national commodity exchanges and farmers associations – were vital contributors to shaping the debate.

Representatives from leading universities dealing with market development issues, such as Cornell University, the University of Colombia, Michigan State University, the University of Leuven, the University of Zambia and Montpellier University, shared results from recent market research done by them and others in academia.

And a number of CGIAR and affiliated organizations, including ILRI, CIAT-TSBF, CIMMYT, IFPRI, ICRISAT, IITA, ICRAF and IFDC contributed their experience and perspectives on the issues being discussed.

In closing the conference, AGRA President Dr Namanga Ngongi, stressed the importance of bringing together such a diverse group of development specialists to clarify what needs to be done next, when and by whom in order to develop Africa’s local, national and regional markets.

Concrete actions that will promote the ability of these markets to absorb the fruits of smallholder productivity increases are essential, Dr Ngongi noted.

The right actions by key players involved in building markets across the continent will reinforce the growing momentum for a uniquely African Green Revolution and, in so doing, help increase food security and reduce poverty for millions.

For more information, please visit the conference website http://agmarketsafrica.wordpress.com

Meeting of the minds: Participants at the AGRA-ILRI Conference "Towards priority actions for market development for African farmers"