AATF Inaugural Report - African Agricultural Technology Foundation

A New Bridge to Sustainable Agricultural Development in Africa
Africa (FARA), and the Economic Commission
for Africa (ECA). It is also working in concert with
an array of regional and sub-regional organisations,
including the Economic Community of West
African States (ECOWAS), the Common Market
for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA),
the Southern African Development Community’s
Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources group
(SADC/FANR), the Association for Strengthening
Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central
Africa (ASARECA), and the West and Central
African Council for Agricultural Development
(CORAF/WECARD).
Selecting Projects
As AATF evolves in response to changing needs
and new opportunities, its project portfolio also
evolves. The initial projects that have been undertaken
by the Foundation reflect – and are meant
to demonstrate – a range of technologies that can
be effectively adapted to African conditions and
that are valued by resource-poor farmers. Selection
criteria include consideration of the overall
balance of the portfolio, as well as project-specific
factors.
In general terms, the Foundation’s portfolio
should include projects of differing sizes, expenditure
profiles and risks, providing balance in terms
of risk and expected outcomes. Other important
balance considerations include geographic distribution,
the potential for impact in the short run,
and inherent technical or institutional synergies
between projects.
More specifically, selected projects must
address high-priority constraints limiting access
to and use of technologies that would otherwise
be available (particularly those held or used by
the private sector). Selected projects must also
involve potential end-users in problem definition,
selection of technology interventions, and project
planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
Projects will be pursued only if it is clear
that, in the target country(s) or region, constraints
to sustainable and profitable use by smallholders
are either being overcome or can be addressed in a
reasonable timeframe and at reasonable cost.
The selection of projects reflects the essence
of the Foundation’s business model, as shown in
Figure 4 opposite.
This 14-step project development process
comprises four distinct but interrelated phases.
The process begins by assessing the constraints to
reducing poverty and improving the food security
of sub-Saharan Africa’s resource-poor farmers,
and by identifying options for overcoming those
constraints (Phase 0). All projects are guided
by carefully prepared business plans (Phase 1),
which lead to the development and deployment
of products (Phases 2 and 3) by project partners.
In each phase, strategic decisions are made that
inform and condition subsequent steps and decision
making.
To date, AATF has focused its efforts on
building alliances that expedite access to, and
delivery of, appropriate new technologies. It is
involved in two flagship projects that, to varying
degrees, feature these twin objectives.
Controlling Striga
This project aims at reducing the impact of the
parasitic weed Striga on maize production. The
Foundation’s involvement in this project began after
consultations with the International Maize and
Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). AATF’s
role is to facilitate the deployment of the technology,
both in Kenya and in other Striga-infested
areas in sub-Saharan Africa, and to make sure that
it reaches smallholder maize producers.
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