A Partnership between African and Brazilian Organizations to Enhance Agricultural Innovation for Development
Agriculture represents an important segment of the economies of Africa and Brazil. For example, cassava is a crop of major importance in both areas with approximately 2 million hectares harvested in Brazil in 2007, compared to 4 million in Nigeria, 2 million in the Democratic Republic of Congo and 1 million in Mozambique. In addition, similarities in climate, ecosystems, agricultural practices, and culture facilitate knowledge sharing and technological cooperation.
While the application of new technologies has become an important engine of pro-poor agricultural development in Brazil, where beans, rice, cassava, maize, soy bean, vegetable crops, wheat, and livestock occupy center stage, their contribution to growth in Africa is much more incipient. Brazil’s successes are relatively recent, and based on efforts that started mostly after 1970. Its national agricultural research organization (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation – Embrapa) was created in 1973 and the first generation of professionals that developed these technologies is still in place.
Because of its recent development and similarities with the African continent, Brazil’s support to agricultural development in Africa could be highly effective in supporting African nations in their efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Primary partnerships between agricultural scientists and experts in Africa and Brazil could be further strengthened by basic science developed in industrialized countries, targeting these tropical challenges. Brazilian policies, experience, and focus in social programs provide an important element of linkage between goals set by African countries and Brazil vis a vis development. For example, Brazilian programs such as Fome Zero (Zero Hunger) as well as activities supported by the Ministry of Agrarian Development (MDA), among others, targeting social protection networks and that have a clear research-based, pro-development focus on the poor, are fully aligned with the African Union/NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa’s Development) and its programme CAADP (Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme), the FAAP (Framework for African Agricultural Productivity), as well as with Brazil’s own foreign policy, as noted at the Africa-South America Summit and the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Summit.
The Africa-Brazil Agricultural Innovation Marketplace initiative (“Marketplace”) effectively contributes to implementation of agriculture related sections of the First Africa-South America Summit held in 2006 in Abuja , Nigeria. In addition, the IBSA Summit working group on agriculture has been drawing up a strategy on the future of agricultural cooperation between Brazil and South Africa. This idea of a stronger Africa-Brazil linkage is further reinforced by the increase in number of missions from Africa to Brazil, specifically to Embrapa, in recent years and by the Brazilian government’s commitment to supporting collaborative partnerships between Brazilian and African institutions in different countries including the opening of an Embrapa office in Africa.
The Marketplace is a process that focuses on generating benefits for smallholders. It was developed by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), with support from the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Bank (WB), the Brazilian Cooperation Agency of the Ministry of External Relations (ABC) and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This South-South collaboration with active Northern support will make an important contribution to more productive agriculture and more affordable food for the poor in Africa, complementing ongoing efforts.
The Marketplace aims to benefit primarily smallholder producers. The objective of this initiative is to enhance agricultural innovation for development on the African continent through the establishment and strengthening of partnerships between African and Brazilian organizations.
The Marketplace will focus on agricultural innovation thus potentially engaging the full range of actors involved in the generation of agricultural knowledge (research, academia, extension, private sector, NGOs, producers, policy makers).
This initiative will lead to the generation of concrete and productive partnerships between agricultural research and development organizations in Africa and Brazil, initially through Embrapa, supporting smallholders. Ultimately, it will support the development of a mutually agreed framework for sustainable Africa-Brazil collaborations. The Marketplace will open a new source of expertise to Africa to identify and target pro-poor, smallholder-based projects utilizing Brazilian innovation research,
The Africa-Brazil Agricultural Innovation Marketplace is a process composed of three pillars:
A much broader policy dialogue has been in progress before the beginning of the negotiations of the Marketplace process, including meetings between Brazilian President Lula and Brazilian diplomats to Africa, and between African ministers of agriculture, the Brazilian President, and goverment representatives.
The launch of Marketplace took place on May 10th, 2010 at Embrapa´s headquarter in Brasilia, DF, Brazil, with a Marketplace-specific policy dialogue. The launch was part of the meeting “Brazil-Africa Dialogue on Food Security, Combating Hunger, and Rural Development” organized by the Brazilian Ministry of External Relations. There were 300 participants. Approximately 80% of the audience was represented by African ministers and their cabinet officials. The remaining of the participants included representatives of international and multilateral organizations, Brazilian government officials and Embrapa representatives. The launch included a joint oral presentation by FARA and Embrapa followed by a dialogue section with questions, comments, and suggestions from the audience. In addition, bilateral meetings were held between ministers of several African countries, the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply and Embrapa’s Presidential cabinet and Secretariat for International Relations to determine specific cooperation demands.
The main Africa-Brazil Agricultural Innovation Marketplace event will be held in Brasilia, Brazil in the second semester of 2010. The event will further the policy dialogue including a program of presentations to elaborate understanding on the concept of South-South collaboration, to highlight the potential contribution of Brazil-Africa collaborations to more productive agriculture and affordable food for Africa, and to further discuss SWOT of the Africa-Brazil collaboration in order to improve effectiveness and to discuss a possible framework for future interaction.
The marketplace event itself will be the forum where participating organizations/individuals will present and discuss collaborative ideas to be potentially supported through the initiative.
Additionally, possible donors and experts on resource mobilization will be invited to attend to facilitate the matchmaking based on the proposals that will be submitted. The marketplace will be designed to maximize the number of concrete partnerships which are understood to be joint proposed initiatives.
International development and cooperation agencies and foundations involved with the support of African agricultural development will also be invited to the event.
Prior to the forum in Brasilia, there will be a 2-step competitive selection of Africa-Brazil collaborative projects. Applicants will be requested to submit a pre-proposal for evaluation and, if selected, will be requested to submit a full proposal. Based on pre-defined assessment criteria, the top 5 to 7 proposals (depending on availability of funds) will be selected by the Steering Committee for funding and implementation. Projects will have a maximum duration of 2 years. The flowchart in Annex 1 indicates the pre-proposal and full proposal processes that will be followed. The guidelines for proposals are published on the initiative website (www.africa-brazil.org) that has been established to provide information to participants, facilitate their contacts, foster collaboration, submit projects, and increase transparency.
Based on consultations between FARA and Embrapa, the 4 thematic areas listed below have been broadly established for proposal submission and funding. Additional targeting might be used in specific calls for proposals.
Development of land productivity enhancement and saving technologies. For example: approaches to biological nitrogen fixation and utilization; improvement of livestock breeds and health; molecular and conventional approaches for genetic improvement and adaptation of crop plants, arable crops, fruit trees and forestry species; biodiversity management; molecular characterization and conservation of plant genetic resources; soil, water, and crop management; storage technologies; and food processing.
Development of technologies for adaptation and mitigation of climate change. For example: forestry and agroforestry options for fighting desertification, poverty and hunger; livestock distribution, health, and productivity, plant breeding, crop management, water harvesting and management techniques, soil reclamation, and re-forestation.
Generation of natural resource and soil conservation technologies with reduced drudgery and low cost. For example: regeneration of degraded lands, conservation agriculture including soil and water conservation, usage of legumes in cropping systems, crop rotation techniques, and development of organic farming.
Strategies for knowledge management and improved access to knowledge and information by stakeholders in the commodity chain. For example: policy analysis; market studies; ICT for development; communication strategies to farmers, policy makers, and private sector; gender sensitivity in communication; and trade in agricultural commodities.
Strategies and policies for institutional strengthening. For example: capacity building; re-engineering institutions; engagement of private sector in agriculture; innovation systems; and engagement of government support in research.
Development of technologies and strategies/systems to reduce poverty and hunger. For example: improvement of cash flow for farmers, and improvement of information flow and of agricultural lending systems.
Mechanization appropriate for smallholders.
Governance of the initiative will be based on two committees:
The Executive Committee (EC) will be co-chaired by FARA and Embrapa and will be in charge of all executive decisions related to the Marketplace, Embrapa and FARA will be the implementing agencies.
An Innovation Marketplace Steering Committee (SC) will serve as a sounding board to the Executive Committee, and will be in charge of pre-proposal and full proposal assessment and approval, on a competitive basis. The SC will be comprised of representatives from FARA, Embrapa, DFID, IFAD, the World Bank, ABC-MRE and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The SC will be co-chaired by Embrapa and FARA.
Funds will be hosted and managed by the Arthur Bernardes Foundation (FUNARBE), in Brazil, in agreement with Embrapa.
The Marketplace is a partnership between FARA, Embrapa, DFID, IFAD, the World Bank , ABC and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Additional partners might join the initiative in the future. Special partnerships will be established, as needed. Additionally, FARA will closely interact with sub-regional agricultural research organizations such as ASARECA, CORAF, SADC.
African-based public or private, governmental or non-governmental research and development organizations are invited to participate in the Africa-Brazil Agricultural Innovation Marketplace in collaboration with one or more Embrapa centers.
The success of the Marketplace will be measured by the number of funded collaborative projects that will be successfully completed at the end of the 2-year funding period.
The Marketplace targets:
More proposals might be funded as additional resources become available.
The Executive Committee will be in charge of:
A Plan of Action has been developed and is constantly updated to reflect new developments in the Marketplace.
International resources will be held and managed through Funarbe (http://www.funarbe.org.br). A table for disbursements is being developed at this time.
ABC
BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION
DFID
EMBRAPA
FARA
IFAD
THE WORLD BANK