AATF Inaugural Report - African Agricultural Technology Foundation

A New Bridge to Sustainable Agricultural Development in Africa
distribute them to smallholder farmers. These
latter steps are absolutely critical to achieving
meaningful impact at the farm level, and AATF
facilitates this work by entering into contracts
with relevant organisations to make sure that the
new products reach resource-poor farmers.
AATF’s strategy rests on fundamental
principles that were defined during the extensive
stakeholder consultations leading up to the
creation of the Foundation. These principles
underpin all AATF activities and relationships:
1) First, the Foundation strives to achieve its
goals and objectives through the creation
and facilitation of enduring public–private
partnerships;
2) It can whenever necessary serve as the
“responsible party” in these novel partnerships,
so as to ensure the interests both of
technology providers and users are protected;
3) It operates along the entire product value
chain – a unique attribute of the organisation
– facilitating project implementation and the
delivery of products to farmers;
4) AATF is willing to promote the transfer
of all types of technologies, as long as the
process is demand driven and the potential
impacts on food security and poverty are
clear;
5) AATF facilitates the transfer of proprietary
technologies according to African needs and
priorities, working closely with public and
private suppliers regardless of their location;
6) The primary focus of the Foundation in its
choice of projects is on food crops and on the
needs of sub-Saharan Africa’s smallholder
farmers; and
7) AATF takes a practical, business-like
approach to determining how technologies
will be licensed and deployed.
Incorporation and Location
In order to expedite the work of the organisation,
it needed to be incorporated within a robust and
predictable legal environment with well established
contract and intellectual property laws. It
was decided that the United Kingdom provided
the best fit between the needs of the Foundation
and those of its potential partners. In January
2003, AATF was incorporated as a company
limited by guarantee, and subsequently registered
in the United Kingdom in January 2005 as a
charity under the laws of England and Wales.
Several countries were considered for the
location of the Foundation’s headquarters, including
Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and South Africa.
All had positive attributes, but in the end it was
decided that Kenya was the most appropriate
choice. In April 2003, at the invitation of the
Government of Kenya, AATF was registered
as a foreign private limited company under the
laws of Kenya. The Foundation operates from
the International Livestock Research Institute’s
(ILRI) Nairobi campus.
Structure and Governance
The Foundation’s structure and governance create
a clear separation between responsibility for setting
and monitoring strategy and the day-to-day
management of operations (see Figure 2). AATF’s
corporate design is intended to limit liability risks
for the Foundation’s donors. It allows for wide
stakeholder participation without constraining
operational flexibility and, as an independent
charitable private company, protects the organisation
from undue external pressures.
During the period covered by this Inaugural
Report, 11 distinguished individuals served on
the AATF Board of Trustees. Board members
possess a range of relevant skills and are drawn
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