Stakeholders and partners exchanged for the sustainable development of natural resources in Westand Central Africa.

CORAF/WECARD’s stakeholders andpartners convened from 9th to 11th

August, 2010, in Douala, to validate theresearch priorities in the field of naturalresource management in West andCentral Africa. During three days of reflection, the par-ticipants reviewed and validated theconstraints and opportunities related tothe management of natural resources;they also identified sustainable partner-ships and capacity strengthening needs.This workshop was also the opportunityto review and prioritize the themes, thesubthemes and project ideas in naturalresource management. The workshop retained the main follo-wing themes: soil and water sustainablemanagement and adaptation to climatechange, sustainable intensification anddiversification of agriculture, conservationand improvement of biodiversity, researchon policy and socio-economics in the fieldof natural resource management.

Monthly Bulletin of the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development

Number 20 (OCTOBER 2010)

Natural Resource Management in West and Central Africa : research priorities validated

Development of plantain cultivation : a regional project launched

CORAF/WECARD organized alaunching workshop for the

«Promotion of integrated manage-ment technologies for plantain cul-tivation to increase farm producti-vity » project in collaboration withCARBAP. This was from 27th to30th September, 2010 in Douala. During these three days, the partici-pants validated the project docu-ment and the rules for partnershipand management with regard to thisproject’s implementation. They har-monized the approaches and moda-lities for the project’s implementa-tion. They appropriated the projectdocument. Each partner was madeaccountable with regard to his role

in the project’s implementation andin the sharing and appropriation byall of CORAF/WECARD require-ments on the project’s financial andadministrative management. Let’s recall that this project covers sixCORAF/WECARD member coun-tries : Cameroon, the DemocraticRepublic of Congo, Togo, Benin,Ghana and Congo. It deals with the dissemination of inno-vative technology. CORAF/WECARDhas chosen the CARBAP to ensurethe coordination of this project at theregional level. In each country, there isgoing to be a national coordinator thatwill work with associated researchersaccording to the various themes.p

Recommendations were made on theneed to take into consideration biofuel,the conflicts between breeders and far-mers and environmental impact assess-

ment in order to improve the final docu-ment which should serve as a basis for allthe activities of natural resource develop-ment in West and Central Africa.p

Partners, researchers and coordinators appropriated the projectdocuments during this workshop

2

Amission of CORAF/WECARD’s ex-perts went to Cameroon from 9th to

12th August, 2010 to assess the AfricanResearch Center on Banana tree andPlantain (CARBAP) in view of its trans-formation into a CORAF/WECARD re-gional center for excellence on bananaand plantain trees in West and CentralAfrica. The mission comprised Dr Harold ROY-MACAULEY, the Director of programmes,Dr Michel SEDOGO, the chairman of theScientific and Technical Committee, JeanRostand JIADIAS KAMGA, the Adminis-trative and Financial director and DrBouraïma OSSEINI, as a resource person.The delegation visited the six operationallaboratories of the Center (laboratory ofagronomy, laboratory of phytopathology,laboratory of nematology/entomology, la-boratory of post-harvest technology (TPR),laboratory of molecular biology and labo-ratory of in-vitro culture). The delegation also exchanged with thestaff on the equipment they use and on thevarious constraints they face with regard tothe equipment and its maintenance. The evaluators expressed their satisfac-tion with this visit and confirmed that itstrengthened their idea that the CARBAPwas quite well equipped on banana andplantain trees. Nevertheless, according to the Delega-tion, accompanying measures reveal tobe necessary for the strengthening of theexisting potential, among others, morelaboratory equipments, the implementa-tion of sustainable funding mechanismfor the center, the strengthening of thepartnership with the NARS, that of therelationship with the universities of the regionto facilitate the training of postgraduate stu-dents from all CORAF/WECARD membercountries. The final decision will be delivered in thecoming weeks.p

CARBAP :An assessment mission

About thirty participants comprising cassava and rice processors and exten-sion agents from West Africa convened in the framework of a training work-

shop held at the Songhaï Center in Benin.They met in order to validate the training documents developed at the beginningof the year by food-processing experts. Once they are back in their country,these trainers will take on the transfer of the knowledge they’ve gained to theircolleagues and partners. Coordinated by the Songhaï Center with regard to its implementation, funded byUSAID and coordinated by CORAF/WECARD at the regional level, the post-harvestproject aims at improving the quality of post-harvest products made from rice, cas-sava, sorghum and millet and to increase the market value and the incomes of pro-cessors in West Africa. p

Commissioned project on post-harvest activities : training of trainers

PARTNERSHIP :FIRCA and CARBAP intend to strengthen their partnership

Adelegation of the Interprofessional Fund for Agricultural research andConsultancy (FIRCA) of Côte d’Ivoire paid an official working visit to the

African Research Center on Banana tree and Plantain (CARBAP) on 11th Au-gust, 2010. The aim of this visit was to allow the members of this FIRCA delegation to getfamiliar with the CARBAP experience in the field of research and developmenton banana and plantain trees and to lay the foundation for collaboration amongthe two organisations. The FIRCA delegation visited the laboratories, the production unit of the vegeta-ble material and the collection of more than 700 books on banana and plantaintrees. The two organisations agreed to sign a future framework agreement of coopera-tion. The fields of this agreement will be specified in the coming days. p

OPERATIONAL PLAN :Launching of the study on the reference situation for the indicators ofCORAF/WECARD’s Operational Plan

The workshop for the launching of the baseline study on the indicators ofCORAF/WECARD’s 2008 – 2013 Operational Plan was hosted at the confe-

rence room of CORAF/WECARD’s Executive Secretariat from 28th to 29thSeptember, 2010. During this meeting, the participants reviewed the terms of reference for thestudy and developed the specifications along with a work plan for the consul-tants. They also discussed the modalities for the drafting of the contracts. These two days facilitated real exchanges with the consultants for the mutualunderstanding of the objectives and of the results expected from their work.p

3

The discussions between the experts enabled people to understand CCAFS’s objectives, its operatingsystem and, above all, its research themes of the.

CCAFS : The CCAFS presented to West African stakeholders and partners

7th meeting of the National Experts Committee of the Africa Rice Center : the center encouraged in its efforts of developing rice-growing in Africa

World Cowpea Congress the experts fight against the threats tothis crop.

The West African climate change expertsand their partners convened to draw up

the intervention themes of the Mega pro-gramme on Climate Change, Agricultureand Food Security (CCAFS). This was from28th to 30th September, 2010 in Dakar. They were informed on the initial CCFASplans of support to research initiatives fordevelopment. They also shared informationon ongoing initiatives so as to avoid duplica-tion of efforts. They identified the compo-nents of the West African food system andasses the forces for change in the region.The participants also proposed projects andideas for the development of networks, com-munication strategies and capacity streng-thening initiatives.The Mega programme on Climate Change,Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) is apartnership between the Consultative Groupon International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)and the Earth System Science Partnership

From 13th to 15th September, 2010,the National Experts Committee

of the Africa Rice Center convened inCotonou to review the activities con-ducted by the center during one yearand to make resolutions and recom-mendations that should be exploitedduring the next session of the Coun-cil of Ministers. Dr Harold ROY-MACAULEY, the directorof programmes of CORAF/WECARD re-presented its organisation to this meetingto which it been invited as an observer,and contributed to enrich the debates. The exchanges of these three daysdealt with the main achievements of thecenter from September 2009 to August2010, the activities of the headquartersin Côte d’Ivoire, the Global Rice science

Partnership (GRiSP) and action groups,the rice statistics report and StateMembers’ report. At the end of this meeting, it wasnoted, among other resolutions andrecommendations, the Committee’ssatisfaction with the approval, by theBoard, of the Consortium of the GlobalRice Science Partnership (GRiSP)Megaprogramme and the recommen-dation for the drafting of a 2011 –2020 Strategic Plan.The committeeurges the center to keep its head-quarters in Côte d’Ivoire.In 2011, the Africa Rice Center is goingto celebrate its 40 years and theCouncil of Ministers will be held inThe Gambia.p

About a hundred experts on cow-pea research and production con-

vened on the occasion of world con-gress on this crop. It was from 27thSeptember to 1st October, 2010 inSaly Portudal.This meeting organised by IITA and itspartners facilitated the assessment ofresearch on cowpea which is a specu-lation rich in nutrients, and above all,the intensification of research activi-ties on cowpea. The production of thisspeculation is subject to various threats.In view of its importance in the regionand of food insecurity, the participantsfirst reviewed the constraints relatedto cowpea development, shared re-search experiences before makingconcrete proposals to efficiently fightagainst the threats to the survival ofcowpea.p

(ESSP). The CCAFS aims at overcoming the threats of climate change in order to achievefood security and to strengthen farmer livelihoods and natural resource management.p

extw CORAF ECHO à{x ÉÇÄ|Çx uâÄÄxà|Ç Éy CORAF/ WECARDA

YÉÜ tÇç |ÇyÉÜÅtà|ÉÇ àÉ á{tÜx? cÄxtáx vÉÇàtvà anatole.kone@coraf.org

4

Meetings organised by CORAF/WECARD25th – 29th October, 2010, Bamako. 3rd ordinary session of theWAAPP/PPAAO regional pilot committee 25th – 27th October, 2010, Bamako. Launching workshop of theregional project on cowpea 18th – 22th October, 2010, Saly Portudal. 8th ordinary session ofCORAF/WECARD’s Scientific and Technical Committee11th – 14th October 2010, Abidjan. Exchange and sharing workshopon the coordination of the WAAPP/PPAAO’s fiduciary activities.

Meetings organised by partners18th - 22th October, 2010, Dakar. Subregional technical workshop onthe management, dissemination and analysis of agricultural data inSub-Saharan Africa. 18th – 22th October 2010, Accra. Workshop on the development of astrategy for the management of information and communication to faci-litate information sharing and improve decision-making 9th – 10th October, 2010, Ouagadougou. Forum on the fundingpolicy of agricultural research and on the strategies for the valorisationof research results on food security 4th – 6th October, 2010, Ouagadougou. African forum of Farmer'sorganisations on CAADP

CAADP : consultation of the pillar specialists

In the framework of the support tocountries for the formulation and

review of National Agricultural Invest-ment Programs (NAIPs), an orientationmeeting for the specialists of the Com-prehensive African Agriculture Develop-ment Programme (CAADP) was heldfrom 12th to 14th September, 2010 inDakar. The ECOWAP/CAADP’s operationali-sation process has led to the definitionof many NAIPs. Subsequently to thereview of the NAIPs for a first group inJune, the African Union, ECOWAS andthe World Bank are planning to supportthe NPIAs’ formulation and the review of

a second group of six West African coun-tries (Cape-Verde, Mali, Niger, The Gam-bia, the Republic of Guinea, Benin). Before the support and review mis-sions, the 4 CAADP pillar specialiststhat have been selected to support thecountries participated in this orientationmeeting in order to familiarize with themethodology and the tools used to sup-port the NAIPs formulation and review. Dr Mbène Dièye Faye, the manager ofthe Policy, Market and Trade Pro-gramme, will form part of the team thatwill support the NAIP’s formulation inMali and the NAIP’s review in Niger. p

GMO : accountability and damagecompensation

On 14th July, 2010, the AfricanBiosafety Network of Expertise

(ABNE) organised a workshop inOuagadougou on accountability anddamage compensation resultingfrom transboundary movements ofGenetically Modified Organisms (GMO).This Ouagadougou meeting is part ofa series of preparatory meetings forthe Cartagena Protocol’s Conferenceof Parties scheduled in Japan. Theaim of these meetings is to sensitizethe African delegates on scientificand technical issues in the field ofbiosecurity and to make them effi-ciently participate in this meeting thatwill deliver major decisions.p

extw CORAF ECHOà{x ÉÇÄ|Çx UâÄÄxà|ÉÇ Éy CORAF/ WECARDA

YÉÜ tÇç |ÇyÉÜÅtà|ÉÇ àÉ á{tÜx? cÄxtáx vÉÇàtvàanatole.kone@coraf.org

The West and Central African Councilfor Agricultural Research and Development’s Monthly

Bulletin

Director of publicationPr Yusuf ABUBAKAR

Director of EditionPaco Sérémé

Editor-in-ChiefAnatole Yékéminan Koné

Editing and Reading CommitteeDepartment Info/Com

LayoutAlassane DIA

Online publicationGorgui Alioune Mbow

A French version is availableCORAF/WECARD, BP 48 Dakar RP

CP 18523, SénégalTél. : (221) 33 869 96 18Fax : (221) 33 869 96 31

E-mail : paco.sereme@coraf.organatole.kone@coraf.orgInternet : www.coraf.org