IFAD Western and Central Africa workshop adopts knowledge sharing methods

Day two of the Western and Central Africa regional implementation workshop started with three parallel chat shows focusing on the following three themes:

• Agricultural value chain development
• Rural and agricultural finance and rural enterprises
• Support to capacity building

During the chat show participants shared their insights, experience and knowledge about the various challenges and opportunities of the above themes. For many, this was the first time they had participated in a chat show and most of them thorougly enjoyed it.

At the end of chat show the hosts (Carlo Bravi and Chrisitiane, Perin Saint-Ange and Coumba Fall, Mohamed Manssouri and Stefania Dina) quickly formulated three questions based on the insight that emerged from the chat show. These questions were then addressed during the World Cafe.

Your reporter had the daunting task of acting as cafe host for all three parallel world cafes. I must admit this was quite challenging also because I had to set up the cafe tables for Carlo's group. Encouraged by the enthusiasm of the participants, I started with Carlo and Christiane's group outlining the process. 5 minutes later I went to Perin and Comba's group and did the same. I then rushed upstairs to Mohamed and Stefania's group.

Stefania and Mohamed were great cafe hosts and had explained the process to the participants. Drenched, I headed back to the secretariat for a sip of water.

The cafe host is also the time keeper. So 20 minutes into the first round of questions, I did my rounds to ask colleagues to move table and get on with their second question. I must admit that everyone collaborated and they moved orderly to the next table, trying their utmost to keep 5 to table.

Mohamed and Stefania had done their maths right and had managed to have 5 francophone and 5 anglophone tables!!! The participants in all three cafes were completely engaged. I heard comments such as: "This cafe thing is really good". Martin Raine said: "You know, I was a skeptic, but this structured chaos is really great!". Steven reflecting on the process said "I wish we had started by asking the participants to talk about their successes, because when we did that at the last round, the energy level changed." And Steven is right, the question is one the important ingredients of a world cafe, it can make it or break it.

I am currently immersed in a series appreciative leadership courses, so his comment resonated completely with my changed mindset. He was right on: we always need to start looking at strengths and build on these, rather than falling in the trap of looking at weakness.

After lunch, participants regrouped in their original table to do the summary of their discussions. These were then used for the speed geeking. An hour later, a total of 30 table hosts descended to the open area, carrying flipcharts or their flipchart papers. They created their stands waiting eagerly to present their table's work to other participants.

I think the speed geeking could have gone a bit better, if before the participants made their way downstairs, we would have reminded them what was expected from the table hosts and from the other participants. This said, the outputs were remarkable. I walked to three stands and must say I was quite impressed.
Kudos to the Western and Central Africa for having fully embracing using knowledge sharing methods at their events. This is now the second time. Early this year, they used the same knowledge sharing methods at their community-driven development workshop.

For your reporter, it was an absolutely rewarding day. I hope colleagues back home get a flavour of the richness of this day. Hope I've done justice to the great work that went on today.

Now, we are all getting ready for a well deserverd dinner somewhere near the beach. We'll talk tomorrow. If you feel inspired, please comment on these blogposts.

A domani.

Knowledge sharing methods

View more presentations from IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development.

ICRISAT – A Homecoming

We all knew it was going to be a big moment in the India mission. The President’s visit to ICRISAT at Pantacheru, near the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, was more than just a homecoming to a site where he had spent a decade of his professional career.

ICRISAT’s Director-General, William Dar, told him it was an honour and a pleasure to have a key player in agriculture and development – and a staunch supporter of ICRISAT and the whole CGIAR system – as chief guest at their Annual Day on December 1.

For the President, it was a precious opportunity for catching up with colleagues from his time as a scientist. As he toured the institute, various white-coated colleagues emerged from their labs to recall the working time together. When he arrived at the entomology lab, where he had worked, it was an emotional moment.

It was also the chance for a belated farewell party. When the President was called to take over his post as Director-General of the Africa Rice Centre (then WARDA), there was little time for all the farewells to be fitted in prior to his departure.

The President was keen to visit the large test plantations that surround the research site. And he identified a few plots that he had actually worked on himself, more than a decade ago. The expansion in test plots that has taken place in the meantime was significant.

The institute has dedicated to President, the Kanayo F Nwanze Crop Protection Laboratory and his visit was used to inaugurate the lab centre. Another facility was named after former chair of ICRISAT’s governing body, Dr Ragnhild Sohlberg from Norway.

The ICRISAT senior management met with the President where, among other issues, a grant proposal for research on understanding economic opportunities in semi-arid agriculture in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa was discussed.

The President pointed out that there had been excellent collaboration between ICRISAT and IFAD well before he took office and that this was the result of the high quality work that ICRISAT produces. He also told the Director-General that it was good to see them reaching out to the private sector for partnerships.

The President delivered the keynote address to the Annual Meeting on the role of agricultural research in the face of global challenges, including food security and climate change.

On the first day at Pantacheru an animated press conference was held attended by some 25 journalists.

“Agriculture, even smallholder agriculture in remote areas, must be treated as a business, that provides a livelihood and an income" , the President told the reporters, who were well-versed in agricultural and rural poverty issues.

“This business attitude is already happening in many parts of India” he said, noting that supporting smallholders with the right government policies was vital, policies that would link them to vibrant local competitive markets.

While in Hyderabad, the President also met the Chief Minister of Andra Pradesh, K. Rosaiah, who requested him on the possibility of IFAD supporting a major food security project covering seed development, mechanisation, farmer training and water conservation techniques. Media coverage in Hyderabad was extensive, as it was throughout the India visit.

By Farhana Haque-Rahman

Ghana Minister of Food and Agriculture pledges to double rice production in Ghana

Day one of the Western and Central Africa workshop is coming to a close. This morning we had the honor and privilege of having the Honorable minister of agriculture at the opening session of the workshop.

The minister reminded the gathering that the workshop coincides with the celebration of Farmers' Day which is an important day for Ghana, a day that the country honours farmers for their untiring and relentless efforts of feeding the nation.

"The food crisis experienced recently was a loud awakening to the world, particularly for those of us in developing countries as we now need to redouble our efforts and better plan for our nation's food security", said the minister.

In his speech, the minister reminded the audience that by 2050 world population would reach 9.1 billion, and that nearly half of the additional 2.3 billion people in the next 40 years will reside in developing countries.

The minister then proceeded to say: "Feeding these extra people is a challenge we need to recognize and plan for. The 'business as usual' approach will be catastrophic."

"The time is ripe for us to rethink our agricultural development efforts, recognizing that agriculture is no longer just a production tool for industry but a tool for satisfying objectives of growth, poverty reduction, food security and sustainable rural development in a complex setting influenced by globalization and climate change."

The minister shared Ghana's strategy for reviving and strengthening the agriculture sector. "I are planning to revolutionize agriculture. I have promised to double rice production in two years", pledged the minister.

He concluded by sharing the key principles behind Ghana's Food and Agriculture Development Policy:

• value chain approach
• focus on selected commodities for greater impact
• diversification for income generation and stability
• enhanced productivity
• transforming smallholders through improved organization of farmer-based organizations
• public-private partnership
• improved coordination and harmonization in the agriculture sector

After the official opening, the minister and Mr Beavogui hosted a joint press briefing which lasted 40 minutes and attended by 40 journalists.

The afternoon sessions were dedicated to country team meetings, where all participated reviewed the Douala action plan and reported on progress, opportunities and challenges.

We'll end the day with promises to be a fun evening of Ghanaian hospitality. I see the musicians setting up in the atrium. Make sure you tune in to learn about the Ghanaian hospitality.

The show is on the road: Day one of the regional implementation workshop for Western and Central Africa

There is quite a bit of frenzy in the atrium of the ORCHID Hospitality Management Services (Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons), Accra, Ghana where IFAD in conjunction with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture of Ghana, is holding a regional project implementation workshop for Western and Central Africa. These events present a wonderful opportunity for people to reconnect. You can see many smiling faces, people hugging and kissing and catching up with each other.

Adriana, Letizia, Christiane and others are helping with the registration. The last couple of days were quite hectic. Stefania and Martin, the two pillars of this workshop have diligently been organizing the minute details of the workshop. Yesterday we had a series of meeting to make sure that all the logistics was working like a swiss watch.

We spent all of yesterday setting up. Everyone, and I mean everyone, contributed to making sure we had everything. The gentlemen, Steven, Leo, Loko and others helped with assemblying the kits. David set up the exhibit and the publication desk. Stefania, Martin and I went were responsible for the signage and to make sure the breakout rooms were set up.

I am really excited, as tomorrow we'll be using a wide range of knowledge sharing methods. We'll start with three parallel chat shows, then we'll move to three parallel world cafes and we'll finish the day with a speed geeking session where colleagues will present their findings and learnings!

Kudos to all the colleagues in Western and Central Africa for embracing knowledge sharing methods. For sure, this workshop will be different and more engaging that previous editions!

This morning we'll have the honour and privilege of having His Excellency the Minister of Agriculture for the official opening. We'll then have a series presentation by the Director of Western and Central Africa and IFAD colleagues on the IFAD-funded project portfolio and the progress since the last implementation workshop.
So, let me sign-off at this point. More to come during the day. Internet access permitting we'll also be tweeting. So make sure you also check out the tweets both from @ifadnews and @rsamii.

President in India - Chennai, Professor Swaminathan and the Swaminathan Foundation

On arrival in Chennai we were whisked straight to the home of Professor Swaminathan, where this 84 year old legend was awaiting us under the portico. Inside, his wife Meena, had prepared a meal for us. (The humility and simplicity of their welcome was disarming). The President and the Professor became swiftly engaged in deep discussions over the Green Revolution – that Professor Swaminathan helped father – and a much-needed new revolution to meet the challenges of food security and climate change.

We were later shown around the headquarters of the MRSSP Swaminathan Foundation. One of the most fascinating elements of their work is the gene bank houses collections of seeds of all varieties, some at risk of extinction, gathered from around India. The Foundation also has India’s largest collection of tubers and roots and vanishing crops – primarily medicinal plants .

The President delivered the keynote Millennium Lecture organised by the Hindu Resource Centre. He then went on to launch the Foundation’s climate risk managers programme, which provides communities with guidance on approaches to risk mitigation and managing climate change. These managers will be tasked with going out to the villages and supporting small farmers and poor rural people, so the solutions will have input from those most directly affected by climate change.

Professor Swaminathan emphasised the importance of strong links from lab to land and land to lab – so that scientific knowledge and traditional wisdom could be harnessed together. The President talked about food insecurity in rural areas, the importance of mapping potential rainfall patterns, tracking price volatility and identifying hotspots.

The day continued with video conference links to village knowledge centres operated by farmers groups, in IFAD-supported projects.

In the aftermath of the December 2004 tsunami, the Naga Pattinan coastal district saw its agriculture and fishing industries wiped out. Village resource or knowledge centres played a major role in relief efforts, and now ICT tools are being used to improve lives and businesses.

Ramesh, a fisherman, told us that through new technologies they have adopted more hygienic methods of handling the catch and more sustainable fishing practices. Incomes have gone up too, with fish prices increasing from 30 rupees per kilo to 110 rupees. Ramesh now trains other fishermen.

What do you do with your extra income, the President asked.
“My kids are at a private school, I have bought computer and GPS equipment for my business and paid off some of his debts,” Ramesh replied.

In the next video link, from Orissa, people from five villages involved in the IFAD-funded Tribal Empowerment Project told how the villages now have seed banks and farmers are aware of the quality of seeds required for these banks.

Some 85 per cent of those in the area are living below the poverty line, 55 per cent are tribal people and 60 per cent are illiterate, so forming the Self Help Groups was a major challenge. Once done though, they were away!. Now community-managed gene banks are holding some 500-1000 varieties of seed for next season.

Professor Swaminathan noted that IFAD was the first to start Self Help Groups, in Tamil Nadu, and this had since catalysed a movement across India, a transformation in sharing knowledge.

He said he was very grateful that he had provided support to the establishment of IFAD “In 1974, we thought we could make poverty history by 1984. That has not happened,” he said.

The two men addressed a well-attended press conference, where the President spoke about the need to find grass roots level solutions to climate change to – help mitigate as well as adapt.

“Thirty years ago when I met Professor Swaminathan I did not know that one day I would be standing here to deliver a Millennium Lecture,” said the President. “But what we did in research three decades ago is relevant today as we face down the challenges of climate change,” he added. “Ending hunger and poverty are possible, we need to remember that.”

By Farhana Haque Rahman and Mattia Prayer Galetti

IFAD President visits Uttarakhand

The last key meeting for the President in the capital New Delhi, before heading to the field, was with the Finance Secretary Ashok Chowla. The confidence the Indian government has in IFAD’s work, supporting its own anti poverty strategies, was evident.

The President was then interviewed by Doordarshan, India's national prime TV channel, where a young journalist Mark Lynn sought his views on a wide range of issues including governance, corruption and how the Indian Government will be able to tackle poverty issues compounded by climate change.

The President pointed out that while there are some 250 million people living in poverty the government has undertaken several schemes and in partnership with other bodies, including IFAD is striving to tackle the root causes of poverty. He cited the example of the Indian Government upscaling the successful programme from the North East to other regions, with a proposed $160 million from the Government, $120 million from the World Bank and IFAD’s $20 million.

We then travelled to Uttarakhand, to see first hand how our work is changing people’s lives in the Himalayan region. The Chief Minister of the state of Uttarkhand, Ramesh Pokhriyal, welcomed us personally and asked if IFAD could adopt the Himalayas and provide a 100 per cent grant to transform the area. The livelihoods of millions of people in the Indo Gangetic Plain depend on those ecosystems which are also important for the entire world.

Uttarakhand is the only place in India where there is high-altitude farming and it is home to rare species of herbs and medicinal plants not available anywhere else in the world, such as the famous 'sanjivani' life-saving herb. Myth has it that when Laxman, the brother of the Hindu God Rama, was taken ill in Sri Lanka, the sanjivani herb was taken all the way from the Himalayas to nourish him back to health.

When the Chief Minister suggested that encouraging commercial production of these herbs could provide income for local communities, the President underlined the importance of creating value chains and linkages to local markets and of sustainable strategies for the future.

The challenges this might involve became crystal clear a few hours later when we were suspended in a German helicopter at 5000 feet above the Gharwali Himalayas range, with the snow-capped mountains of the Chow Khamba looming. Below us lay incredible terraced mountain slopes and pine forests, as we headed towards Chandra Badni where two rivers meet to form the mighty Ganges. The view was a stark reminder of how remote the Jogiyana village is and what infastucture and conncting roads would mean for the villagers.

We landed at Naikheri Khal and then drove, on what were often little more than tracks, to the village of Jogiyana, to see first hand how the IFAD-funded Livelihood Improvement Project in the Himalaya was impacting people’s lives.

The Gharwali community come from various backgrounds. We had been told that women had a particularly crucial role – traditionally and within the project - but were still slightly surprised to see that at the meeting the front seats were filled by women, with bright coloured headscarves and saris, with the menfolk at back. The President thanked them all, and remarked that in some societies it would often be the other way around.

He told them how deeply impressed he was with their determination and resilience. “The community group approach which underlies so much of IFAD’s work, and the empowering force of self help groups, has been at work here” he said.

Music is a powerful and constant presence in everyday life in Jogiyana, so the welcome event and the discussions with the Self Help Groups were all punctuated by music and local dancing.

But nothing could have prepared us for The Empowerment Song, a version of the civil rights hit “We Shall Overcome” sung in Hindi. The song asks the village to recognise women’s strengths, what they are capable of doing for the wellbeing of the community and their power to deliver social and economic change, with little daily changes leading gradually to a transformation in society.

We heard about these little changes from Khosa Bhat, the Federation President, filled us in on poultry raising and organic vegetable farming, where collection centres for vegetables production and direct marketing of produce has transformed incomes for the farmers. For example, for tomatoes, where they once received 5 rupees per kilo they now get 20 rupees, and the income from citrus fruits has increased fourfold, from 50 paisa each to 2 Rupees each.

“This federation, with 747 members, made 1.32 lakh - about US$3000 - in the last season from selling soya bean and organic seeds. With more market information and better packaging they will be able to improve further,” she said.

“I now produce soya beans and sell them direct to the market, cutting out the middleman”, said Mrs Thapliyar Pratabangar. “What we need next is a soya bean processing plant,” she added.

Despite severe water scarcity, Srimiaty Parmaswari, is now cultivating mushrooms. Popsing is raising chickens – running a mother unit – and rearing about 300 birds.

“It is important that these women are making money, with IFAD’s investment. Yet in this process of empowerment they have hung on tight to their culture and its spiritual value” the President noted.

The project has increased incomes by an average of 12 per cent through interventions in poultry, dairy off-season vegetables and off-farm businesses. The project has also helped reduce migration by 9 per cent, so young people are starting to realize there is a future here for them, that agriculture is business.

We watched a group of women making candles. They recounted how they had borrowed 20,000 rupees and put in 6,000 of their own. And they are making a success of it. At the last Divali – the Hindu festival of Light – they made 11000 rupees from candle sales.

They now want to expand into scented and decorative candles, but will need new moulds and are looking to target tourists at nearby Nainital.

One of the women - Durga Devi – has two boys and two girls – who are now all at school. Since the project began, she said, people are better nourished and families are ensuring their children attend school.

At the end of the visit to Jogiyana village, the President addressed a press briefing, along with Mattia and the project officers, giving their impressions of the project. Some 15 local media asked questions ranging from migration issues to the failure of poverty reduction schemes.

Several newspapers of the region highlighted the IFAD visit, as a sign of the state government’s appreciation that a UN agency head had decided to travel to remote local communities.

By Farhana Haque Rahman and Mattia Prayer Galetti

White Ribbon Campaign at IFAD

To mark the International Day to Eliminate Violence against Women on 25 November, IFAD’s Thematic Group on Gender, colleagues from the Communication Division and the United Nations Women’s Group (UNWG) joined hands to distribute white ribbons among male and female colleagues.

The White Ribbon Campaign is a global effort of men who are not afraid to speak out against men’s use of violence. Women have joined the White Ribbon Campaign to work with men as allies towards a world without violence for women, children and other men.

Jessie Mabutas, Assistant President and IFAD Focal Point for the UN Secretary-General’s Campaign “UNITE to end violence against women”, kicked off the event by handing out white

ribbons to male colleagues, from senior managers to interns.

About 275 colleagues, mostly men, signed the signature poster of the White Ribbon Campaign and took the white ribbon as a symbol. They pledged not to commit, condone or remain silent about violence against women and to influence other men and boys not to accept violence or justify violence.

This event showed how many IFAD colleagues are interested in stopping violence against women. It proved sceptics wrong who think gender based violence is not on the agenda of IFAD. It also helped us to question our attitudes and how each one of us is influenced by stereotypes. We demonize men as perpetrators of violence or argue whether women can also be violent. Instead, it would be much more helpful to support men who have the courage to speak out against sexual harassment and violence against women, and to encourage women to reach out to men and start a dialogue.

The white ribbon helps to create positive change by influencing men not to use violence and by nourishing greater respect among women and men. It is a symbol for change in gender relations.


http://www.whiteribbon.com/