1. African Forum for Agricultural
Advisory Services
OVERVIEW OF AFAAS AND KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
Presentation to AEAS stakeholders- Liberia
Silim Mohammed Nahdy (PhD)
&
Max olupot
3 July 2014- Monrovia
www.afaas-africa.org

2. Setting the context
• Nwaze, 2013, …“But we must recognize that technology
is only a tool. It is not an end in itself. As a scientist, I
understand the excitement of new discoveries. But as a
development practitioner I have seen the miracles that
take place when we give farmers the tools to enhance
existing – and sometimes quite traditional technologies.”
• The need for Extension and Advisory Services to
bridge the missing link, albeit being constrained!!!

3. Widening
scope of
AEAS
Targeting
poverty
and gender
Environment
al
degradation
and climate
change
Market
Orientation
Appropriate Policies
and institutional
arrangements
?!
Appropriate
methods,
approaches and
tools (e.g ICT)
Supporting
pluralism
and
Partnership
AEAS Demands- Pillars

4. AIS- Comprehensive Agricultural Extension System
Maintaining National Food Security Improving Rural Livelihoods
Technology
transfer,
especially for
the staple food
crops
Training farmers
how to intensify
& diversify their
farming systems
Training
farmers how to
organize into
producer and
self-help groups
Training farmers
how to use
sustainable
NRM practices
PRODUCT INNOVATION
PROCESS INNOVATION
PRODUCT INNOVATION PROCESS INNOVATION

5. Why AFAAS?
• Support sharing of experiences, information and
knowledge on AEAS
• Support to the country AEAS to ensure that FAAP
principles are applied within the CAADP process
• Mobilize a pool of experts from within Africa and
strengthen their capacity to respond to the specific
demand of AEAS at different levels
• Backstop country-level AEAS to organize themselves to
focus on AEAS issues
• Advocacy and lobbying - policy, investment etc
• Represent AEAS at continental and international fora
…AUC, GCARD, FARA

6. AFAAS VISION AND MISSION
• Vision: AAS that effectively & efficiently contribute to
sustained productivity, profitability & growth of African
agriculture for poverty reduction
• Mission: Promote lesson learning & add value to
initiatives in AAS thru sharing of information & increased
professional interaction

7. Goal
Enhanced utilization of improved knowledge and technologies
by agricultural value chain actors for improving productivity oriented towards
their individual and national development objectives
Purpose/Outcome
AAS providers have sufficient capacity to effectively support value
chain actors towards increasing agricultural productivity and food security in a
5. A continental
African
Organisation that
can sustainably
support national
1. AAS are
integral part
of CAADP
2. Information
and knowledge
management
system
sustainable manner
3. Country level
multi-stakeholder
fora
4. Partnerships
between AASP
and other
relevant
partners
Results/Outputs

8. AFAAS engagement in CAADP agenda
 Engagement in Science Agenda for African Agriculture;
 Capacity Strengthening in AEAS
 Guidelines for integrating AEAS in CAADP
 Supporting national AEAS Systems
 Pool of experts

9. Knowledge Management
 Three Symposia organised ( 2004, 2016 & 2011);
 One Africa Agricultural Extension Week in 2013 in
Botswana; Second planed for 2014 in Addis Ababa in
partnership with AUC and MoARD Ethiopia;
 A website & a virtual social networking platform;
 A conceptual framework for lesson learning developed;
 A guide for Piloting Market Oriented AEAS;
 Study on targeting Women Advisory Service Providers &
Capacity Development Programmes;
 Study on how issues of Climate Change are being addressed in
AEAS

10. Country Fora
 Guidelines on how to engage with AAS Stakeholder in a
country to bring about the emergence of CF that are
aligned with CAADP
 AFAAS membership 40 African Countries by 2013 - General
Assembly
 Country Fora established in a number of countries e.g.,
Benin, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria,
Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda etc
 Six countries in the process of developing their own
Strategic and operational Plans aligned with that of
AFAAS
 Linkages with other ARD actors at national level

11. Building Strong Partnerships
Who are the AFAAS Strategic partners?
Research Systems
and Institutions
Farmer
Organisation
Agricultural
Training
Institutions
Agri-business
Financial
Services
Social Services
Public sector at
all levels
AEAS

12. Partnerships and Collaborations contd...
• GFRAS- Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services
• FARA, Multiple with focus on continental ARD agenda
• ASARECA; MoU signed
• CORAF ; Concept being developed
• NRI- Climate change
• CABI- Plantwise ( Plant Clinics) scaling up and out
• Helvetas , FANRPAN, Agridea International – Post Harvest
Management Project for SSA( Mozambique and Benin) – on going
• INNODEV- Knowledge Management component
• COMPACI- capacity development for AAS providers
• KIT- Royal Tropical Institute on MOAAS
• icipe - capacity, scaling out innovations -

13. Sustainability
• Recognition by AUC
• Integration into national (including donor
funded) programmes
• Maintaining anchorage in to the broader R&D
agenda including S3A
• Support from the national ARD systems
• Catalyse and Facilitate establishment /
Strengthening of CF

14. AFAAS Thrusts
• Championing Knowledge Management in
AEAS in the Continent
• Strengthening Country Fora for national level
engagement
• Partnerships and collaboration with all ARD
actors for scaling up and out innovations
• Capacity Strengthening for AEAS
• Policy and advocacy for AEAS
• Conducting strategic studies

15. AEAS Country Fora Formation Process,
Sustainability and Role of AFAAS Secretariat
www.afaas-africa.org

16. Why CF?
• Brings together AEAS actors
• Supports/ Leads AEAS development at national
level
• Strong linkages of AEAS stakeholders with
CAADP process
• Exchange of information and Knowledge
• Shares lessons
• Identifies opportunities for providing services to
each other- learning process
• Innovation on AEAS
• Capacity and professionalism
• Identifies areas of joint studies in AEAS

17. Process of establishment of CF
Approach
• Aligning to FAAP principles
• Analysis on a need for the forum
• Facilitating the identification of
existing structures for networking
• Identifying champions

18. CF establishment Process.....
• Interest expressed from AEAS
stakeholders in the country to engage
with AFAAS
• Sensitisation and awareness raising
• Assessment of status of organisational
and institutional status of AEAS

19. CF establishment Process
• Identification of existing entity for
country forum or setting up a new
entity if this does not exist
• Facilitation of the process of
establishing a country forum
• Facilitation of a CF to develop a
strategic and operational plan

20. FAAP Principles
1. Empowerment of end-users
2. Planned subsidiarity
3. Pluralism in the delivery of AEAS
4. Evidence based approaches to AEAS
5. Integration of AEAS with research, the private sector, training,
capacity building and education programmes
6. Explicit incorporation of sustainability criteria
7. Systematic utilisation of improved management information systems
8. Introduction of cost sharing with end-users
9. Integration of gender considerations at all levels

21. Legal recognition
The level of legal recognition required
depends on the functions that the CF is
expected to perform
 Independent entity
 Hosted by a legal organisation

22. Partnerships and alliances
• For the CF to be effective, it is important
that it is appropriately connected to other
networks and initiatives with overlapping or
side-lined objectives that can strengthen
the national efforts in providing effective
AEAS

23. Leadership and hosting
• It is important that the entity has a clear
and effective leadership:
– for example as an Executive Committee, and
that this is recognised and accepted among
all the stakeholders in such a way that all
have confidence in the Forum serving their
interest
– Political support
– Strong membership – constituency

24. Facilitation of the Process
• National workshop for AEAS
stakeholders
• Establishing or launching meeting
• Resource mobilisation

25. AAS stakeholders……..
Research Systems
and Institutions
Professional
Associations
Agricultural
Training
Institutions
Agri-business
Financial
Services
Social Services
AEAS
Public sector
Farmer
Organisation

26. Establishment Meeting
• scoping meeting/workshop:
– Establish leadership (for example an
Executive Committee), roles and
responsibilities
– Operational guidelines for functions and
communication
– Discuss the establishment of a charter
• Make a plan for the next steps: Strategic
and operational planning

27. Experience on successful CFs

28. For more information contact :
email: secretariat @afaas-africa.org/ molupot@afaas-africa.org
www.afaas-africa.org
&
www.g-fras.org

29. Thank you for Listening
http://www.afaas-africa.org
http://networking.afaas-africa.org