AATF Inaugural Report - African Agricultural Technology Foundation

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A New Bridge to Sustainable Agricultural Development in Africa private and public agricultural research and development organisations. That bridge is now in place. To build it has required completing a number of key tasks, as well as the tireless efforts of many people to forge the partnerships needed for success. To reach this point, AATF and its partners have had to: • Draw on the expertise and experience of numerous people and organisations in order to fully appreciate the critical constraints to agricultural development; • Fully understand what is missing from the mix of development institutions already working in Africa – why, despite the great efforts of many dedicated people, agricultural development is still lagging; • Identify and articulate a clear mission for AATF, sound institutional values and effective operating principles; and • Develop a dynamic strategy, identify and bring on board the best people to implement it, build whole new partnerships among organisations not accustomed to working together, and identify and develop an initial set of pilot projects that would demonstrate the added value provided through AATF’s interventions, as well as innovative approaches designed to improve and increase smallholder agricultural productivity. 2003, and was registered in Kenya, the Foundation’s host country, in April 2003. We have put together a staff of highly competent individuals, all nationals of sub-Saharan Africa. We have created a number of key public–private partnerships and, together with our partners, initiated several important projects designed to bring the fruits of technological advances to the continent’s resource-poor farmers. And we have begun negotiations on a number of other projects with that same goal in mind. Much was accomplished during AATF’s start-up phase, which ended in June 2004 with the formal launch of the organisation. Many people and institutions were closely involved in the design and implementation process, and I want to express my deepest appreciation for all their efforts. But now the real work begins. The key to our success will be effective public–private partnerships aimed at developing and delivering new technologies to Africa’s resource-poor smallholders. We have built a new bridge to sustainable agricultural development in Africa. We must now cross it. AATF was legally established as a limited company in the United Kingdom in January Dr Eugene Terry AATF Implementing Director 18
Building the New Bridge Implementing the AATF Concept Modern agricultural science and technology hold considerable promise for improving food security and reducing poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. To realise this promise, public and private research and development organizations must work ever more closely together, joining in new partnerships designed to bring the benefits of agricultural innovation to the region’s resource-poor farmers. At the heart of these partnerships is the efficient transfer and adaptation of new technologies, including proprietary ones, to meet the needs of Africa’s smallholder farmers. thus contributing to higher incomes and greater food security. The Foundation’s basic objectives are to: • Clearly define the real constraints of the region’s smallholder farmers and identify opportunities to address those constraints through the royalty-free transfer and use of new and existing proprietary technologies; • Facilitate the efforts of public and private institutions, as well as non-governmental and community-based organisations working to develop and deliver useful proprietary tools, materials and know-how to farmers; and • Create sustainable markets and enduring private-sector participation in the agricultural development process. “AATF’s mission is to increase the productivity of sub- Saharan Africa’s resource-poor farmers by facilitating the transfer, delivery and uptake of appropriate proprietary agricultural technologies, thus contributing to higher incomes and greater food security.” AATF constitutes a new bridge to sustainable agricultural development, one that spans the gulf between the public and private organisations in Africa and elsewhere that are involved in advancing agriculture through technological innovations. Mission, Objectives and Strategy AATF’s mission is to increase the productivity of sub-Saharan Africa’s resource-poor farmers by facilitating the transfer, delivery and uptake of appropriate proprietary agricultural technologies, Achieving the Foundation’s objectives requires an innovative strategy, one that allows AATF to enter into formal agreements to access technologies from various providers and then sublicense these technologies to public and private organisations whose job it is to adapt them to smallholder farming conditions. The Foundation is also involved in seeking regulatory approval for newly adapted agricultural technologies, and in sub-licensing the adapted products to public and private sector institutions that then produce and 19
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AATF Inaugural Report - African Agricultural Technology Foundation

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