This concept note is about the Joint Capacity Building Programme on the Implementation of Farmers’ Rights. This programme, launched by the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture,  starts from the local level, recognizing the value of smallholder farmers around the world in the conservation, use and improvement of food crops as the basis of local, national and global food security.  The Programme responds to the many requests from national governments and

This capacity building material is developed in response to requests made by small-scale farmers and
relevant stakeholders in Malawi to support their capacity development for the implementation of Farmers’
Rights in the country. This capacity building material is intended, mainly, for small-scale farmers, local leaders
that live and depend directly on family farming; farmers’ organizations and decision makers, including the
Ministry of Agriculture; the Malawi Plant Genetic Resource Centre; agricultural research institutes; and the

This PROLINNOVA report to the 3rd GFAR Programme-Committee meeting is composed of two parts.
The past 1 entitles ‘ PROLINNOVA genesis and growth’ describes historical background and
PROLINOVA in general while the part 2 entitles ‘2007 accomplishments’ narrates specific
accomplishments of PROLINNOVA during the period January-November 2007 . Further, the annex 1
lists contact addresses.

Innovation platforms are advocated as a promising way to find solutions to complex problems, such as those in agriculture and natural resource management. As social, economic and environmental problems grow ever more complex, researchers need
to engage more actively with stakeholders such as farmers, development practitioners and policymakers to explore, design and implement solutions. Innovation platforms offer them an opportunity to do so.

Communication is a crucial part of facilitating the process of innovation within an innovation platform. It comprises a broad range of practices and approaches which include information management, publishing, use of information and communication technologies, communication for development, knowledge sharing and knowledge management. Its goal is not just to produce or disseminate more information, but rather to use communication processes to power changes identified by the platform.

Facilitation of innovation is a flexible and adaptive process during which facilitators manage dialogue and stimulate collective problem analysis by multiple stakeholders to overcome challenges or make use of opportunities. The brief describes what facilitation is about, facilitators' functions and roles, skills and attributes, and who facilitates. It is available in Chinese, English, Hindi, Thai and Vietnamese.

The Africa Research In Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation (Africa RISING) program comprises three research-for-development projects supported by the United States Agency for International Development as part of the U.S. government’s Feed the Future initiative.

The Africa Research in Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation (Africa RISING) program comprises three research-for-development projects supported by the United States Agency for International Development as part of the U.S. government’s Feed the Future initiative. Through action research and development partnerships, Africa RISING will create opportunities for smallholder farm households to move out of hunger and poverty through sustainably intensified farming systems that improve food, nutrition, and income security, particularly for women and children, and

The workshop was attended by over 50 people including partners from CGIAR centres, Regional Research Institutes and Centres, Universities, woredas and kebeles working with Africa RISING. The workshop discussed the use of different approaches, methods and tools for the efficient and
sustained functioning of innovation platforms (IPs) that could improve research and subsequent scaling up of suitable technologies and value chains to improve livelihoods.

The chapter is a part of the book Innovation platforms for agricultural development edited by Iddo Dror, Jean-Joseph Cadilhon, Marc Schut, Michael Misiko and Shreya Maheshwari. It introduces the background for the setting up of innovation platforms (IPs), initiation and function of the three IPs in Ethiopian highlands, innovation fund to support fodder development, the role of different actors in scaling up, outcomes and impact of the intervention, and lessons learned.