AATF Inaugural Report - African Agricultural Technology Foundation

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A New Bridge to Sustainable Agricultural Development in Africa As we look to the future – and in particular as we think about how sub-Saharan Africa countries can achieve measurable progress towards achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals – we see a rapidly growing need for the services provided by AATF. Business as usual is a recipe for failure. The way forward for Africa is to transform its agriculture into a vibrant business sector that will help drive economic development on the continent. Our partners, both in the public and private sectors, fully understand Africa’s agricultural development imperative – the absolutely crucial requirement of dramatically improving farm-level productivity in order to meet the needs of current and future generations of Africans. Agricultural development leads to the creation of wealth and the reduction of poverty. It leads to greater food security for the poor. It provides the foundation upon which all other development must rest. And if done properly, using the right technologies, it will enable development while preserving the productive capacity of our natural resource base for generations to come. Our partners know these things because they have devoted their lives to – and in fact derive their own livelihoods from – science-based agricultural development. They have come to the understanding that great progress can be achieved if they work together, and they are eagerly embracing their common ground in the interest of Africa’s poor. AATF is proud to work closely with all its partners, both public and private, and to play its part in securing Africa’s future. A critical bridge to sustainable agricultural development has now been put into place. Our job is to strengthen this bridge and help our many partners cross it with the determination of improving the lives of millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa. Dr Mpoko Bokanga AATF Executive Director 26
Crossing to the Other Side Getting on with the Job AATF is a robust and flexible organisation, intentionally designed to be responsive to the changing needs of its primary stakeholders. Its work is firmly guided by its overall mission of reducing poverty and increasing food security in sub-Saharan Africa, and by the promises the Foundation has made to its many partners and beneficiaries: • First and foremost, to work closely with resource-poor smallholder farmers to identify their needs and match them with technologies suitable for African ecologies and farming systems. Building on those insights, AATF “…the organisation understands how important it is to build and maintain an “enabling policy environment,” one that will support the efficient transfer and uptake of new technologies. To this end AATF works with institutions that are in a position to stimulate beneficial policy changes.” facilitates the transfer of apt technologies, including knowledge about their management and use. • To serve as a much-needed bridge that African scientists and development experts can use to access the tools they need, tools that will enable them get the final products of the research process into the hands of farmers and that will strengthen the region’s agricultural research and development institutions. • To address the needs of technology providers, ensuring that the technologies they supply are used appropriately and that the best research and management practices from public–private domains are combined to balance concerns for expense, simplicity, and effectiveness. • To contribute to the poverty reduction strategies and initiatives of governments and donors by increasing agricultural productivity through improved technological development and transfer systems that will ensure more secure livelihoods for the rural poor. AATF is guided in its partnership-building activities by the Trustees of the Foundation, who collectively decide on which areas of intervention hold the greatest promise for reducing poverty and increasing food security. In addition, the organisation understands how important it is to build and maintain an “enabling policy environment,” one that will support the efficient transfer and uptake of new technologies. To this end AATF works with institutions that are in a position to stimulate beneficial policy changes. The Foundation is not directly involved in policy formation, but it does play a role by assisting other organisations whose work affects the regulation of agricultural research and development in target countries. Thus, AATF engages with such vital organisations as the African Union (AU), the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the Forum for Agricultural Research in 27
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AATF Inaugural Report - African Agricultural Technology Foundation

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