Partnerships Issue 9 - African Agricultural Technology Foundation

Partnerships
09
Jan-Apr
2012
A quarterly newsletter of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation
AATF and the African
Union Commission sign
MoU to raise agricultural
productivity in Africa ...2
The Water Efficient
Maize for Africa
varieties to include
insect-protection ...4
AATF board visits rice
and banana projects in
Uganda ...6
Denis Kyetere joins AATF as Executive Director
Dr Denis Tumwesigye Kyetere,
a geneticist and plant breeder,
joined the African Agricultural
Technology Foundation (AATF) as the
Executive Director on 1 January 2012.
Dr Kyetere took over from Dr Jacob
Hodeba Mignouna, who had been in
acting capacity since December 2010.
Dr Mignouna is AATF’s Technical
Operations Director.
Dr Kyetere is a national of Uganda
and has a PhD in Plant Breeding &
Genetics from The Ohio State University
(OSU) in Ohio, USA; an MSc in plant
breeding from the University of Wales,
Aberystwyth College, UK and a BSc
(Hons) in Botany and Zoology from
Makerere University, Uganda.
Dr Kyetere previously served for
five years as the Director General at
the National Agricultural Research
Organisation (NARO), the overall organ
managing the national agricultural
research system of Uganda.
Key priorities and vision
In a media interview with SciDev.
Net on assuming office, Dr Kyetere
said his key priority and vision will be
supporting AATF’s mission – to ensure
smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan
Africa (SSA) have access to the same
affordable and productive agricultural
technologies available to farmers in
most parts of the world. “To do this, I
will focus on innovative partnerships
and effective product stewardship. In
addition, I want to expand our resource
and technology base,” he said.
Looking ahead in five years’ time, Dr
Kyetere sees AATF already deploying
the technologies developed with
partners and making a difference to
the livelihoods of smallholder farmers
Dr Denis T. Kyetere
in Sub-Saharan Africa. “The Water
Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA)
project, which is developing droughttolerant
maize varieties, and the cowpea
improvement project that is working on
insect-resistant varieties of the legume,
will be at the deployment stage, with
some initial varieties already in the
hands of local seed companies and
farmers. This will be a major milestone
for the Foundation,” he said.
“I also see AATF able to establish new
partnerships that will enable it access
and add more innovative technologies
to its portfolio that will address
already identified constraints facing
smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan
Africa,” he added.
“In addition, we may also see AATF
able to partner with more countries
to increase access to appropriate
technologies for resource-poor farmers”.
Farmers as entrepreneurs
Dr Kyetere believes that farmers are
entrepreneurs and where opportunities
are available and markets exist, they
will do what they can to benefit. On
the other hand, where markets are
not readily accessible, farmers will
see technology investments as a risk.
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On how best to put scientific research
on agricultural technologies to
practical use in Africa, Dr Kyetere
says, first there is need to understand
the specific challenges farmers in SSA
face, prioritise them, and apply science
to seeking a solution. Secondly, we
need to ensure policy makers are our
partners and can consider how certain
policies and strategic investments
in scientific research can lead to
meaningful progress for farmers and
countries in SSA as a whole.
Consultation with partners
and stakeholders
In an effort to understand AATF and
its work, Dr Kyetere held a series of
meetings during the first quarter of the
year with the organisation’s partners and
stakeholders. The meetings included a
courtesy call to Kenya’s and Nigeria’s
Ministries of Agriculture and that of
Foreign Affairs, which are the host
countries. The ministries pledged their
continued support and willingness to
work together with AATF in the future.
Dr Kyetere also held meetings with
AATF’s financial donors, technology
developers, national research institutes
in countries where AATF is coordinating
activities, and other partners involved in
agricultural development activities in
Africa. These consultations will continue
in a bid to build and strengthen value
adding relationships. All partners and
stakeholders expressed their support to
AATF. n
For more information visit
• http://www.aatf africa.org/
about_aatf/staff/Denis_
Tumwesigye_Kyetere
• http://www.aatf-africa.org/
userfiles/Press-Release-Kyetere-tohead-AATF.pdf

AATF enters into strategic partnerships to improve
Saharan Africa
During the period, AATF
signed Memorandums of
Understanding (MoUs) with
various key players in the agricultural
sector to improve technology access
for smallholder farmers in Sub-
Saharan Africa.
AATF and the African
Union Commission sign
MoU to raise agricultural
productivity in Africa
The AATF and the Africa Union
Commission signed a Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) in January
2012 that will see the mainstreaming
of AATF activities into the
Comprehensive Africa Agricultural
Development Programme (CADDP)
process. Through the MoU, the
AU Commission and AATF will
work together to raise agricultural
productivity in Africa through
technology access, development,
delivery and uptake. The collaboration
will facilitate the deployment of
proven technologies to help address
the constraints faced by smallholder
African farmers.
“We recognise and appreciate the
contribution that AATF is making
Dr Denis Kyetere, HE Mrs Rhoda Tumusiime and HE Dr Ibrahim Miyaki, the Chief Executive
Officer NEPAD during the MoU signing ceremony in Addis Ababa in January 2012
towards Africa’s agricultural
development. The signing of the MoU
is testimony to a mutual aspiration
to work together to sustain the
economic backbone of the continent
and its peoples especially those who
depend on agriculture and associated
appropriate technologies for their
livelihoods,” said Mrs Rhoda Peace
Tumusiime, the Commissioner for
Rural Economy and Agriculture of the
AU Commission during the signing of
the agreement at the AU headquarters
in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
“AATF’s mission to access and deliver
agricultural technologies for use
by smallholder farmers in SSA is in
full accord with the African Union
Sirte Declaration on the challenges
of implementing integrated and
sustainable development on agriculture
and water in Africa,” said Dr Kyetere,
the Executive Director of AATF. n
For more information, visit http://
www.aatf-africa.org/news__events/
press_releases/en/ or contact Nancy
Muchiri (n.muchiri@aatf-africa.org)
AATF and AFSTA to work together to improve seed uptake
In February 2012, AATF and the
African Seed Traders Association
(AFSTA) based in Nairobi signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
that will support seed uptake and
distribution. The two organisations will
work together to facilitate technology
transfer and commercialisation of new
crop varieties to help achieve food
security and alleviate poverty in Sub-
Saharan Africa (SSA). The collaboration
will facilitate the delivery of certified
seed varieties of new and better
crop varieties emanating from AATF
coordinated projects that will help
smallholder farmers improve their
yields.
AFSTA’s core mandates are to promote
trade in quality seeds and to champion
interests of the private seed industry
in Africa. The Association currently
represents over 46 individual seed
Dr Justin Rakotoarisaona, the Secretary General, AFSTA and Dr Denis Kyetere, the
Executive Director AATF exchange the MoU documents at the signing ceremony in
Nairobi in February 2012
companies and 26 national seed
trade associations both from within
and outside Africa. n
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For more information, contact Gospel
Omanya (g.omanya@aatf-africa.org)

technology access for smallholder farmers in Sub-
ICIPE and AATF in new
partnership to boost Striga
control efforts in Kenya
The International Centre for Insect
Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE)
and AATF in March 2012 signed
a Partnership Agreement under the
Integrated Striga Management in Africa
(ISMA) project that is supported by the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The
agreement will see AATF and ICIPE
undertake a survey on Striga weed
management technologies in Kenya.
The Striga weed is a highly invasive
parasitic weed that attacks cereal
crops. The infestation of Striga causes
between 20 percent and 100 percent
grain yield loss in many fields in
Western Kenya, affecting over 250,000
hectares. It is estimated that farmers
lose 300,000 tonnes (3.3 million bags
or US$ 132 million) of maize grain
every year in the region. n
Dr Christian Borgemeister, the Director General ICIPE and Dr Denis Kyetere, the
Executive Director AATF during the signing of the partnership to work together under
the ISMA project in March 2012 in Nairobi
For more information visit http://www.aatf-africa.org/news/new_partnership_for_
aatf_and_icipe/en/ contact Gospel Omanya (g.omanya@aatf-africa.org)
Japan Tobacco grants AATF access to transformation technology for NEWEST rice
project
Japan Tobacco (JT) has granted the Nitrogen Use
Efficient Water Use Efficient and Salt Tolerant
(NEWEST) Rice Project access to its PureIntro® plant
transformation technology. The licence agreement
allowing AATF to access the technology for the project
was signed between JT and AATF in March 2012.
The NEWEST project seeks to address some of the
major constraints that face rice production in Sub-
Saharan Africa. The project is transforming some
varieties from the New Rice for Africa (NERICA)
project to improve their productivity in nitrogenpoor
soils, drought prone regions and in fields that
have become excessively salty over time and provide
smallholder rice farmers with higher yielding varieties
that are well adapted to the upland and lowland ricegrowing
areas in Africa.
The PureIntro® is an agrobacterium-mediated
plant transformation technology that is recognised
worldwide as the standard transformation system.
The technology reduces development costs and
time. PureIntro® has been licensed by JT to around
50 private and public entities worldwide for numerous
crops including maize, rice, wheat, barley, sorghum,
banana, sugarcane, switchgrass, miscanthus and turf.
n
For more information, contact Jacob Mignouna
(j.mignouna@aatf-africa.org)
The PutreIntro plant transformation technology from Japan Tobacco
will be used to develop nitrogen use efficient, water use efficient and
salt tolerant rice that will improve rice production in Sub-Saharan
Africa
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AATF projects report progress at the 2012 review
Dr James Gethi, the WEMA Kenya country coordinator shares his experience with farmers in Limpopo, South Africa during a field trip in
February 2012 held alongside the 2012 planning and review meeting
During the first quarter of the
year, various projects held
their annual review and
planning meetings.
The Water Efficient Maize
for Africa varieties to
include insect-protection
The Water Efficient Maize for Africa
(WEMA) project held its 4 th annual
review meeting in Polokwane, South
Africa in February 2012 where
significant progress was reported by all
project partners since the last meeting
held in February 2011. In 2011, the
project submitted two conventional
drought-tolerant hybrids into National
Performance Trials in Kenya. In 2011
Kenya and Uganda, two of the five
project countries, successfully carried
out the second round of confined field
trials for the drought-tolerant maize
varieties. South Africa, also one of the
countries, did its third round of confined
field trials. It was also reported that as a
result of the research and development
results from the last four years, the
project realised the need to include
insect protection in the drought-tolerant
varieties to guarantee smallholder
farmers the expected yield during
moderate drought. n
For more information visit http://
w w w. a a t f - a f r i c a . o r g / w e m a /
wemareportmay2012 or, contact
Sylvester Oikeh (s.oikeh@aatf-africa.
org)
The Maruca-Resistant Cowpea project identifies promising lines
The Maruca-Resistant Cowpea project partners
met in Accra, Ghana in March 2012 to review
progress made in the three project countries of
Nigeria, Ghana and Burkina Faso in 2011. During
the meeting, it was reported that Nigeria had
successfully held its third round of confined field
trials (CFTs) with Burkina Faso conducting its first.
Results from these CFTs show that both were very
successful and have clearly indicated that there are
at least two cowpea lines from which to choose for
backcrossing and further biosafety and molecular
studies. Ghana has submitted its application to the
country’s national biosafety authority to conduct
similar trials. The trials are expected to begin in
2012. n
For more information, contact Jacob Mignouna
(j.mignouna@aatf-africa.org)
Cowpea Project Partners during the meeting in Accra, Ghana in March
2012
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and planning meetings
ISMA project partners and staff from Kenya Seed Company pose for a group photograph with the seed treater in the background
during the handover ceremony in February 2012
The Striga Control in Maize Project to upscale demonstrations
Partners involved in the Striga
Control in Maize project met in
Kisumu, Kenya in January 2012
to plan activities that would upscale the
use of Imazapyr Resistant (IR) maize
during 2012. The partners consisting
of representatives from community
based organisations (CBOs) and seed
company representatives involved in
the project implementation agreed to
set-up more demonstration plots and
hold farmer field days in areas with
heavy Striga infestation to create more
awareness on the problem and the
solutions available.
During the same month, AATF also
participated in a review and planning
meeting that was held alongside a
stakeholders’ forum for the Integrated
Striga Management in Africa (ISMA)
project. Participants at the two
meetings were drawn from the key
partner organisations participating
in the project. These included AATF,
the International Institute of Tropical
Agriculture (IITA), the International
Centre for Maize and Wheat
Improvement Center (CIMMYT),
the International Centre for Insect
Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE),
and the Tropical Soil Biology and
Fertility Institute of the International
Center for Tropical Agriculture (TSBF-
CIAT), Ministry of Agriculture, seed
companies and CBOs. The four-year
ISMA project was launched in June
2011 and is focusing on improving
and expanding access to methods
of Striga control, while supporting
on-farm research to identify the
most effective means of controlling
the parasitic weed under varying
conditions.
The project is evaluating and
implementing five approaches:
i. using herbicide-coated seeds (IR
maize)
ii. using Striga-resistant maize crop
varieties
iii. using a “push-pull” technology
that involves intercropping with
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specific forage legumes that
inhibit the germination of Striga
iv. using soybeans and groundnuts
as a trap crop
v. deploying bio-control of Striga.
During this period, the availability of
IR maize seed to farmers in western
Kenya was boosted by the donation
of a seed treater machine to the Kenya
Seed Company (KSC) in February
2012. The seed processing facility
purchase by CIMMYT was facilitated
with financial and technical support
from the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation and BASF, respectively
as part of the ISMA project. The seed
treater costing USD 30,000 will
facilitate the KSC to produce IR maize
seed targeting resource poor farmers
in western Kenya who are facing the
threat of Striga weed infestation on
their farms. n
For more information, contact Gospel
Omanya (g.omanya@aatf-africa.org)

News
AATF board visits rice and banana projects in Uganda
The AATF Board of Trustee
members visited the rice and
banana projects located at
NARO, Uganda research stations
in Namulonge and Kawanda. The
visit was held alongside the Board’s
meeting held in Kampala in April
2012.
Aflatoxin control project
receives approval for onfarm
testing in Kenya
Th e C o n t r o l o f A f l a t o x i n
Contamination in Maize and Peanuts
project has received approval from the
Kenya Standing Technical Committee
on Import and Export (KSTCIE) to do
on-farm testing of aflasafeKE01 on
maize in Kenya. Food grains especially
maize and peanuts are susceptible to
aflatoxin contamination posing great
risk to people who rely on them for
food. Aflatoxin exposure provides a
challenge in efforts to address food
insecurity and improve people’s
health.
Aflasafe, a natural biocontrol solution
developed by the United States
Department of Agriculture-Agricultural
Research Service (USDA-ARS) reduces
aflatoxin contamination and is already
in use in the USA. The International
Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)
and USDA-ARS have successfully
adapted the technology for use in
Nigeria with results showing reduced
contamination in maize and peanuts
by upto 80–90 percent. AflasafeKE01
is a natural product that can reduce
aflatoxin contamination of crops and
has been developed in Kenya by the
Kenya Agricultural Research Institute
(KARI) in partnership with the AATF,
IITA and USDA-ARS.The on-farm
testing scheduled for May 2012 will
involve a total of 400 farmers spread
within eastern Kenya, and Bura and
Tana River districts.
In a related event, the Partnership for
Aflatoxin Control in Africa (PACA) in
March 2012, provided funding for
commencement of biocontrol work
in Tanzania. Dr Jacob Mignouna of
AATF, Dr Peter Cotty of the USDA and
Dr Ranajit Bandyopadhyay from IITA
AATF Board members during a field visit to the Banana project confined field trial site in
NARO Uganda’s Kawanda Research Institute
met Tanzania’s Ministry of Agriculture
and the Tanzania Food and Drugs
Authority officials on the same. n
For more information, contact Charity
Mutegi (c.mutegi@cgiar.org)
A farmer selects maize cobs for testing aflatoxin contamination in Nigeria
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New members join the AATF Board
Dr Jikun Huang and Dr Stan Blade joined the AATF
Board of Trustees in November 2011 and March 2012
respectively. They will each serve for a term of three years.
In addition, Dr Blade was appointed to serve as Vice-Chair
to the Board during the last Board meeting held in April
2012 in Kampala Uganda.
Dr Stanford F Blade,
is the Chief Executive
Officer of the Alberta
I n n o v a t e s B i o
Solutions Corporation
(AI-Bio), Canada – a
provincial government
agency that leads and
coordinates science
and innovation to grow
prosperity in Alberta’s
agriculture, food and
forestry sectors – and an
Adjunct Professor in the
Faculty of Agriculture,
Life and Environmental
S c i e n c e s a t t h e
University of Alberta.
He previously served as the Deputy Director General
(Research) for the International Institute of Tropical
Agriculture (IITA). (for more information on Dr Blade visit
http://www.aatf-africa.org/about_aatf/board_of_trustees/
Blade)
Dr Jikun Huang is an
Agricultural Economist
and is the founder and
Director of the Center
for Chinese Agricultural
Policy of the Chinese
Academy of Sciences,
and a professor
at the Institute of
Geographical Sciences
and Natural Resources
Research. He is also
vice president of the
Chinese Association of
Agricultural Economics
and Chinese Association
of Agro-Technology
Economics, member of
International Food and Agricultural Trade Policy Council,
and council member of Global Agenda (World Economic
Forum). His research covers a wide range of issues on
China’s agricultural and rural development (for more
information on Dr Huang visit http://www.aatf-africa.
org/about_aatf/board_of_trustees/jikun).
New Staff
In an effort to strengthen the capacity of AATF to deliver on
its mandate, six new staff members joined AATF towards
the end of 2011 and early 2012.
Jane Achando, was
appointed Associate Legal
Officer for AATF where she
is responsible for assisting
the Legal Counsel with
corporate compliance
functions and managing
the AATF Technology and
Innovation Support Centre
among others. Jane is an
Advocate of the High Court
of Kenya and holds a Masters
in Business Administration
from the Kenya Methodist
University, a Post Graduate
Diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law and a
Bachelors of Law (LLB) from the University of South
Africa. Prior to joining AATF she worked at Family Health
International (Kenya) as a Contract and Grants Consultant.
Peter Musyoka, an
agricultural economist
joined AATF as a Programme
Officer in the Seed System
Unit, where he is responsible
for technology deployment.
He holds a Bachelor’s
degree in Agricultural
Economics and a Master’s
degree in Agricultural and
Applied Economics from
Egerton University, Kenya.
Before joining AATF, Peter
worked with the Ministry
of Agriculture in Kenya as
District Agribusiness Development Officer.
Pauline Mundia is the
Programme Assistant at AATF
responsible for providing
support to management
of AATF projects portfolio,
administrative support to the
technical team and the coordination
of the Technical
Operations Department.
Pauline who previously
worked for the Ministry of
Agriculture as a District
Crops Development Officer
holds a BSc. (Hons) degree
in Horticulture from Egerton
University and an MSc. Horticulture degree from Jomo
Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology both in
Kenya.
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Francis Onyekachi joined
AATF as the Programme
Officer for the Maruca-
Resistant Cowpea Project.
He holds a B.Agric (Animal
Science and Animal Health)
from the University of
Agriculture, Umudike,
Nigeria, and a Masters
in Human Development
and Food Security from
the University of Rome
(Roma Tre). Before joining
AATF, Francis who is
based in AATF’s Nigeria
office, worked for the International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD).
Joseph Ndwiga joined AATF
as Programme Officer-
Agri-Business where he is
responsible for supporting
AATF business processes
t h r o u g h s u p p o r t i n g
the implementation of
monitoring and evaluation.
Joseph is a development
scientist with an MA
degree in Project Planning
and Management from the
University of Nairobi, and
a BSc Degree in Agricultural
Economics from Egerton
University, Kenya. Before joining AATF, Joseph was Head
of Monitoring and Evaluation at the Kenya Forest Service.
Rosemary Nzuki joined AATF as
Project Communications Officer for
the Water Efficient Maize for Africa
Project. Rosemary joins AATF after
working with World Vision Kenya
(WVK) for five years where she was
the Public Relations and Marketing
Officer. She holds a Master of Arts
degree in Communication from the
University of Nairobi and a Bachelor
of Commerce degree in Business
Administration and Management
from Daystar University in Kenya.
AATF is now on facebook.
Visit us at http://www.facebook.com/pages/
African-Agricultural-Technology-Foundation-
AATF/146735758725251
Partnerships is a quarterly newsletter published by the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) in Nairobi, Kenya.
Contact: Nancy N. Muchiri, Communications & Partnerships Unit, African Agricultural Technology Foundation,
P.O. Box 30709-00100, Nairobi, Kenya. Tel. +254 20 422 3700; Fax: +254 20 422 3701; Via USA: Tel. + 1 650 833 6660 3700,
Fax: +1 650 833 6661 3701.
email: aatf@aatf-africa.org. Website: www.aatf-africa.org.
© 2012. AATF encourages fair use of information in this newsletter provided the source is fully acknowledged.
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