Trip Report to West Africa: Association of African
Agricultural Professionals in the Diaspora
Introduction
The Association of African Agricultural Professionals in the
Diaspora (AAAPD) in an attempt to build a database of agricultural
professionals both in the diaspora and within the continent, embarked on
regional trips to Africa. Drs. Andrew Manu and Samuel Essah were charged to go
to West Africa. The purpose of this exploratory visit was to interact with
individuals, regional and local agricultural development organizations like the
Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Forum for Agricultural Research
in Africa (FARA), ministries of agriculture, as well as tertiary and technical
institutions, farmers and other private sector organizations in Ghana and
Burkina Faso. At the end of this regional tour, we would like to have a good
appreciation of potential partners who will collaborate in the effort to
promote sustainable agricultural development for the benefit of the smallholder
producers in particular and for the population as a whole. This trip would also
lead to the establishment of effective linkages through networking and
information sharing with these entities. This trip was also used as a vehicle
to recruit and register interested agricultural professionals who in the vision
of AAAPD and want to join the agricultural revolution for Africa.
Period of Travel
The itinerary for this trip is presented in Appendix A. The
team departed the United States from Des Moines, IA (Andrew Manu) on October 8,
and from Denver, CO, (Samuel Essah) on October 9. Both team members departed
Accra, Ghana on October 24, and arrived in the US on October 25, 2009.
Friday October 9, 2009
Preparatory Visits to University of Ghana and Headquarters
of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)
A team member arrived in Accra at 8:30 a.m. He went directly to
the University of Ghana, Legon where he met with Professor Ben K. Ahunu,
Provost of the University and Dr. Thomas Adjadeh, professor of soil science who
also served as AAAPD’s contact person at the University. At this meeting,
Andrew Manu explained the purpose and expected outcomes of AAAPD’s visit to the
sub-region. We also discussed the logistics and format for the planned meeting
with faculty, staff and students of the College of Agriculture and Consumer
Sciences. We visited the venue for the meeting and checked out the audio visual
equipment. We also inspected the site for the poster presentation on AAAPD. We
spent two hours posting flyers that were used to advertise the meeting and
distributed AAAPD brochures among faculty, staff and students. Copies of the
flyers and brochures are attached as Appendices B and C, respectively.
From the University, the team member went to the headquarters
of AGRA where he met Dr. André Bationo, Director of AGRA, West Africa and
Senior Program Officer, Soil Health Program. This meeting was used to introduce
AAAPD to AGRA and to work out the details for a subsequent meeting. Dr. Bationo
expressed excitement on the formation of AAAPD. He however cautioned that we
should try to make this a functional and effective association and not become
like earlier “diaspora” associations that fizzled out after a few months.
Monday, October 12, 2009:
Ghana Oil Palm Development Company, Kwae, Eastern Region
The Ghana Oil Palm Development Company was initiated in 1975
by the government of Ghana but was privatized in 1995. The objective of the
company is to diversify agricultural production through the introduction of oil
palm as alternative to the production of cocoa and tropical woods. In addition
to industrial plantations maintained by the company, 14,000 ha of land are
maintained by outgrower smallholder farmers whose sustainable livelihoods are
of interest to the AAAPD. The association’s collaboration with this company in
research and extension to the benefit of the resource poor farmer will
therefore be a useful AAAPD-private sector partnership.
A team member of AAAPD visited with 20 staff and research
scientists (Fig. 1) at the Ghana Oil Palm of the company where he shared the
vision and goals of the association and stressed the need for effective and
sustainable partnerships to improve the lives of farmers through the
identification and extension of improved agricultural practices. We thought it
is important to stress this point with a private enterprise that is often profit
driven and tends to marginalize the farmers. During the discussion session,
participants suggested that we form regional chapters of the Association within
the African continent. This, they suggested, will promote decentralization and
lead to an effective association. At the end of the discussion session,
participants had a tour of the seed nursery and plantation sections of the
company (Fig. 2).
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Institute, Ghana
Atomic Energy Commission
The Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute
(BNARI) has the mission to carry out research and development activities on
safe biotechnology and nuclear technology and transfer these technologies to
end users in order to enhance agricultural productivity, industrialization and
health delivery. Two of the strategic objectives of the institute are; (1) to
promote and strengthen partnerships with potential relevant national and
international institutions in order to accelerate the identification of
solutions to challenges in research, development and technology transfer; and
(2) To build national capacity in biotechnology, biosafety and radiation
processing to enhance agricultural productivity.
AAAPD’s vision for sustainable agricultural productivity and
biosafety in Africa through research , extension and education is in line with
the objectives of BNARI. We therefore made BNARI one of the strategic
institutes to visit and we met with 10 of the researchers and administrators of
the institute. The institute personnel expressed interest to partner with AAAPD
to achieve the ultimate goal of promoting sustainable livelihoods of the
smallholder farmers in Africa as a whole. Participants at the meeting wanted to
see the AAAPD website up and running as soon as possible so that they could
register on-line.
We had the opportunity to tour some of the facilities of the
institute (Fig. 3) that included the plant propagation laboratories and food
irradiation facilities.
Fig. 3 Plant Propagation section of the Biotechnology and
Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute
Fig.
4. AAAPD Board members with some of the attendees at the networking session
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Accra, Ghana
The AAAPD team was pleased by the acceptance of Ghana’s
Minister of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), the Hon. Kwesi Ahwoi, to meet with us
on short notice. What was remarkable is the fact that he had just returned from
a two-week international assignment. He also summoned several of his Deputy
Ministers and Divisional Heads to this meeting. He was very gracious to listen
to our presentation on AAAPD where we stressed how important it is for his
ministry to join hands with the association to find solution to some of the
agricultural problems we have in the country in particular and in Africa as a
whole. We talked about AAAPD as a continental initiative and that we had
colleagues who were carrying out similar mission in Southern Africa. The
Minister applauded the vision to initiate the formation of AAAPD and expressed
his gratitude to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for making this
possible.
In the past, he said, he was totally appalled by the mass
exodus of professionals to countries outside Africa neglecting their duty to
develop Ghana. But after our presentation in which we pledged, as a matter of
moral obligation, to give back to our nations, he encouraged us to do the best
we can for the benefit of the continent. He pledged his ministry’s support to
AAAPD and he went as far as to detail
one of his deputy ministers to circulate information about the formation of
AAAPD, and to encourage as many professionals in the MOFA to register as
partners of AAAPD. We promised him and his staff that we will communicate the
progress of the website development to him and requested audience for further
discussions in the near future.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)
As a follow up to our previous visit to AGRA, the AAAPD team
went to the headquarters of the organization where we met with Dr. Bationo and
seven other Directors of the Alliance.
Dr. Bationo started the meeting by giving us a comprehensive
presentation on the goals, mission, the structure and the current activities of
AGRA in West Africa. AAAPD also made a presentation to introduce the
association and to solicit effective partnership with AGRA. A lengthy
discussion followed after the presentations. The discussion focused mainly on
how AAAPD could partner with AGRA in future projects in soil rehabilitation and
maintenance, development of appropriate and suitable curriculum for instruction
in soil science, and establishment of functional soil laboratories to support
agricultural research. He further told us that after our first earlier in the
week he sent the information on AAAPD to scientists at the ICRISAT Sahelian Center
in Niamey, Niger, and he also promised to follow up to encourage agricultural
professionals not only to register but to become active participants in the
activities of the association. He
further linked us with some University professionals who received funding from
AGRA and also urged us to collaborate with them to educate young African
agricultural scientists. As a result of this emphasis on effective training of
students in agriculture, Andrew Manu is applying for a travel grant through the
Iowa State University Foreign Travel Grant program to visit agricultural
institutions in Ghana and develop well integrated soil science courses for
undergraduates. This travel is planned for May of 2010. The other Directors
would like see AAAPD support activities in plant breeding and food
preservation. We promised to keep him up to date on the activities of the
association.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
College of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences, University of
Ghana, Legon
The AAAPD team engaged
students, faculty and staff of the College of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences
at the University of Ghana, Legon in a very effective meeting. . The Academic
Departments that were represented at the meeting included; Soil Science, Crop
Science, Horticulture, Animal Science, Agricultural Economics and Agricultural
Extension. Although most of the attendees had prior knowledge of the
association, through e-mail blasts from Prof. Adjadeh, AAAPD brochures, and
flyers, we proceeded to set up a poster presentation in the auditorium ahead of
time to give them detailed information on the background and of the
association. Again, we did a powerpoint presentation and this was followed by
very engaging question and answer session. Two major issues that we needed to
address are the following:
(1)
AAAPD Membership
With the name AAAPD, some of the participants felt that
membership could only be limited to individuals living outside the continent of
Africa. They questioned how people living and working on the continent could be
considered members of the association
(2)
Professional development
Being in an academic profession, a criterion for evaluation
and promotion is journal publications. There seems to be frustration among the
ranks because they have been inefficient in this area for varied reasons and
they wanted to know what the association could do help.
We tried to address these issues as best as we could but we
suggested that this could be some of the items that could be tackled on a
discussion forum of the association as we get our website created and
functional. This generated some interest in the website and participants
encouraged us to speed up the website development process.
Thursday, October 15 to Friday, October 16, 2009
International Workshop on Capacity Building for Global
Competitiveness in Developing Economies: The Nexus of Technology Development
and Transfer, Education, and Culture.
La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, Accra, Ghana.
Some of the major platforms envisaged for effective launching
of the association on the continent are international workshops and
conferences. The AAAPD took advantage of one such workshops in Ghana. This was
organized by the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore. AAAPD sponsored a half
day session of the workshop that was entitled “ Brain Drain/Brain Gain:
Opportunities for Development". This session had six papers that dealt
with reversing brain drain and exploiting African intellectual resources in the
diaspora for economic development on the continent. AAAPD presented the lead
paper of the session entitled “Using Brain Gain to Support Sustainable
Agricultural Development in Africa: The Case of the Association of African
Agricultural Professionals in the Diaspora (AAAPD)". There was a group
discussion after the presentations and we identified three initiatives in this
area that was shared with the general conference.
In the evening of October 15, 2009, AAAPD hosted a networking
session in an effort to recruit membership into the association. This was
attended by about 75 people (Fig. 4) The introductory poster was displayed
(Fig. 5) and here again we gave attendees the opportunity to read the poster
for about 30 minutes. The AAAPD team made a formal presentation as we have done
at previous locations after which we had an informal discussion and gave
attendees the opportunity to register (fig. 6). There was a lot of excitement
among the group for the formation of the association but at the same time we
could feel that there are a lot of expectations from the association.
Fig 5. Attendees at the networking session reading the AAAPD
poster
Fig.6. Interested participants at network session registering
to become members of AAAPD
Friday, October 16, 2009
Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA)
The mission of FARA is to create broad-based improvements in
agricultural productivity, competitiveness and markets, by supplying Africa’s
sub-regional organization in strengthening capacity for agricultural
innovation. FARA aims to provide a strategic platform to foster continental as
well as global networking that reinforces the capacities of Africa’s NARS and
sub-regional organizations.
AAAPD’s long-term mission and expected impacts on the
continent’s sustainable agricultural growth actually mirror those of FARA. It
is therefore appropriate that AAAPD becomes part of this continental network
for change. The AAAPD team visited FARA headquarters in Accra, Ghana, and had a
very fruitful meeting with 10 of their staff members (Fig. 7).Our contact
person was Dr. Annor-Irene Frempong, Director of Capacity Building. The meeting
was started with a very detailed presentation by Dr. Wale Adekunle, FARA’s
Director of Partnerships and Strategic Alliances, on the rationale behind the
establishment of FARA, the structure and the role of the forum as lead
institution of Pillar 4 of the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development
Programme (CAADP). In turn the AAAPD shared our mission and goals and our
raison d’etre with the group and most importantly the effort to enter into
strategic partnerships with FARA. It was generally agreed that AAAPD’s involvement
in the activities of FARA could be through activities such as (1) Regional
Agricultural Information and Learning Systems (RAILS); (2) Dissemination of New
Agricultural Technologies in Africa (DONATA); and (3) Strengthening Capacity
for Agricultural Research and Development in Africa (SCARDA). The staff
expressed their sincere interest in any collaborative endeavors with AAAPD for
African agricultural development and we also promised to keep them updated on
the evolution and specific activities of the association through our website,
e-mails, and personal visits.
Fig. 7. AAAPD Board members with staff, administrators and agricultural researchers of FARA
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Permanent Interstates Committee for Drought Control in the
Sahel (CILSS), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
We could not travel to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on the 18th of October as planned in the original
itinerary because flights were canceled. We eventually arrived at Ouagadougou
on the evening of October 19 and we were warmly received by the staff of the
Permanent Interstates Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS).
Fig. 8. AAAPD Board Members with Dr. Issa Bikienga, Deputy
Executive Secretary of CILLS at CILSS headquarters
The following day, we went to the headquarters of CILSS where
we met with Dr. Issa Bikienga, the Deputy Executive Secretary. (Fig. 8).He gave
us a brief background of CILSS and the mandate of the organization to ensure
food security in Africa. In effect CILSS operates in following three areas: (1)
Food security, desertification control, and population and development; (2)
Promotion of agricultural and food commodities; and (3) Water Management.
We discussed the role AAAPD could play in these three areas and
he advised us to get in touch with the other two organs of CILSS, namely; the
Sahel Institute (INSAH) which is headquartered in Bamako, Mali, and the
AGRHYMET Regional Center that is sited in Niamey, Niger. One AAAPD Board member
has since contacted Dr. Moustapha Amadou, Director of INSAH. We stressed the
importance of getting effective representation from the francophone West
African countries in AAAPD and he promised to promote our cause.
October 22, 2009
Crop Research Institute, Kumasi, Ghana
This was an extremely busy day when we visited three major
institutions and the first one was the Crops Research Institute of Ghana. At
this institute, the Director Hans Adu Dappah mobilized his researchers and support
staff to meet with us on a day they were having a regional meeting (Fig.
9). Participants were eager to partner
with AAAPD, and to collaborate in future projects in the areas of research and
agricultural extension.
One of the major developments was the recognition of the role
female agricultural professionals could play in the association. It was agreed
that those professionals could serve as role models for the future generation.
Recognizing the importance of gender in agriculture whether at the local
professional level and more importantly at the research and extension levels,
the Director appointed one of the few lady researchers to serve as liaison
between the institute and AAAPD. She is currently coordinating the recruitment
and registration of members for AAAPD.
Researchers here also complained about constraints they have
to publishing their research findings. They cited lack of effective peer review
process as well as excessive page charges which they cannot afford to pay
themselves and they do not have any institutional support. They feel their
professional development is serious hampered and they wanted to know how AAAPD
could help in this area.
Fig. 9 AAAPD Board members with researchers of the Crops
Research Institute of Ghana
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi,
Ghana
AAAPD visited with the faculty, staff, and students of the
college of Agriculture and Renewable Natural Resources at the Kwame Nkrumah
University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. Departments that attended
the Town Hall type meeting included, Soil Science, Crop Science, Horticulture,
Animal Science, Agriculture Economics and Extension, Agriculture Engineering,
and Renewable Natural Resources (Fig. 10). The participants were so
enthusiastic to partner with AAAPD to effect positive change in agricultural
production. During the questions and answer time, participants could not wait
but started completing the registration forms available (Fig. 11). They
promised to supply copies of the forms to individuals who could not attend the
meeting.
An issue that was raised at this meeting is the formal
structure of the association and how there could be effective coordination of
our activities at the continental level. We assured them that we are working on
a governance document and we expect to solicit input from all members. People
were happy that everybody’s voice will be heard. One important suggestion that
was made at this particular meeting is to find the means to get young agricultural
graduates from tertiary institutions involved in field of agriculture either as
field agronomists or extension agents.
Fig. 10. AAAPD Board members in a town hall type meeting at
the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
Fig. 11. Enthusiastic faculty, staff and students filling out
AAAPD registration forms at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and
Technology
Soil Research Institute, Kwadaso, Nyankpala, and Ohao
Agricultural College, Kumasi, Ghana
As a result of the networking session at the international
conference in Accra, we were able to attract faculty, staff, and students of
the Soil Research Institute, and the Kwadaso, Nyankpala, and Ohao Agriculture
Colleges to converge at the auditorium of the Soil Research Institute, Kumasi ,
for a very big meeting with representatives of AAAPD. A presentation was made
by AAAPD to introduce the association and to recruit members to be partners of
the association. This meeting was one of the largest during the West African
trip (Fig. 12). This group showed so much enthusiasm because as people who will
be working directly with farmers in the fields, they thought the association
could be of immense help to prepare them for their professional careers.
The question of forming regional chapter of the association
within the African continent came up again during discussion session. Over 100
participants registered at this meeting.
Fig. 12. Participants in meeting at the Soil Research
Institute, Kumasi
Summary
The West Africa trip was very eventful and fruitful. The trip
covered one Anglophone and one Francophone country in the West African Region.
Twelve agriculture based institutions and ministries were visited. AAAPD was
introduced to Faculty, Staff, and/or students of these institutions through a
series of presentations. Almost three hundred Agricultural Professionals were
recruited on site and the list is attached as Appendix D and the majority is
waiting to register on-line to partner with AAAPD.
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