AATF Inaugural Report - African Agricultural Technology Foundation

More documents

Recommendations

Info

A New Bridge to Sustainable Agricultural Development in Africa 24
Crossing to the Other Side Message from the Executive Director Since its formal launch in June 2004, AATF has made important strides toward fulfilling its mission of linking the needs of resource-poor smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa with potential technological solutions. The progress we have made is of course the result of the efforts of many people, but I wish to especially acknowledge and thank Dr Eugene Terry, AATF’s Implementing Director during the Foundation’s design and start up phases. His vision and leadership throughout the consultation and design process were essential to building this new bridge to sustainable agricultural development that is AATF. Today we are governed by firm principles and operational procedures, which underpin our present and future work, that benefited from his input. The harsh realities imposed by poverty and food insecurity throughout sub-Saharan Africa give AATF management and staff a strong sense of urgency about getting on with the job of bringing appropriate improved agricultural technologies to those who can make good use of them. And yet, while we are motivated day-today by this sense of urgency, we also recognise that we are engaged in a development marathon, not a sprint. We must keep our eyes on the horizon and carefully build the enduring public and private partnerships needed for long-term success. AATF is a unique organisation that is building on, and contributing to, the work of the many others involved in agricultural development in sub-Saharan Africa. We are recognised as an honest broker capable of fairly negotiating the royaltyfree transfer of technologies held by public and private institutions in developed and developing countries. We work along the entire product value chain, and provide a much-needed “one-stopshop” for providing access to proprietary technologies, knowledge and know-how. The creation of the Foundation was itself a catalyst for change – for innovation, reform and the creation of agricultural markets. AATF technical staff bring to the organisation a wide range of talents and over 60 years of combined experience in African agricultural research and development; they are committed both to excelling in their respective professions and to achieving AATF’s mission. We are indeed well placed to engage in activities vital to helping the continent’s resource-poor farmers become more productive. By December 2004, AATF had begun implementing two projects, while several more were at various stages of design and development. Details on these projects can be found in the pages that follow. The Foundation’s role varies depending on the needs of individual projects, but in all cases we strive to foster partnerships, link project outputs to the needs of smallholders, and facilitate the delivery of appropriate agricultural technologies to Africa’s resource-poor farmers. 25
Page 1 and 2: The African Agricultural Technology
Page 3: A New Bridge to Sustainable Agricul
Page 6 and 7: A New Bridge to Sustainable Agricul
Page 48: African Agricultural Technology Fou

AATF Inaugural Report - African Agricultural Technology Foundation

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?