Angola has so much potential as an agricultural country, with up to 50 million hectares that could be cultivated. But why
"CDAIS is interesting for us because it is improving how we operate”, explains Francisco Venda, president of the Sementes do Planalto seed cooperative based in Bailundo. “We work with many partners, and the new skills have proved invaluable.” Since 2016, CDAIS has been working with this group, helping them to identify and agree their priority needs, and take steps to overcoming them. But much is yet to be done, though the high levels of energy and enthusiasm will ensure that progress will continue long after the project has ended.
“When I first heard about the CDAIS project two years ago, I knew immediately that it was just what our group of farmers was looking for” explains Edgar Somacumbi. “We have land, seeds, tractors and all the equipment we want, and a processing plant. But moving from being farmer to agro-entrepreneurs is a complex process and requires new skills. And this is where we needed help.” CDAIS is now supporting a group of farmers to improve how they organise themselves and to help them find solutions to their problems.
The CDAIS ‘marketplace’ to promote agricultural innovations in Burkina Faso took place on July 6th 2017 in Ouagadougou. It was a rich event involving more than 80 people who are working directly with, or interested in working with, different partnerships. The marketplace allowed stakeholders in the six selected niches to get to know and develop relationships with suppliers of agricultural support services. It also provided an opportunity for service suppliers and other participants to show their interests in accompanying the niches on their respective journeys…
For many years, rural women have been creating their own agri-food processing companies, that promote local agriculture by bringing to the market original foods in products that are accessible to urban populations. The aim of CDAIS is to support their development by strengthening their capacities to experiment and learn together, as well as to negotiate and make contracts with suppliers and traders. And Dakoupa in Bobo Dioulasso is one of many small family businesses supported by CDAIS through the women-led agri-food processing microenterprise innovation partnership.
Le premier Marché des Innovations Agricoles (MIA) au Burkina Faso a eu lieu le 6 juillet 2017 à l’hôtel Laïco, à Ouagadougou. Il s’est tenu à « guichet fermé » : seuls les fournisseurs de service support à l’innovation et les bailleurs pré-identifiés par l’équipe du projet CDAIS comme étant pertinents pour renforcer les capacités des acteurs des Situations d’Innovation Localisées (SIL) ont été invités à y participer.
To meet the growing demand for food in the Global South in a sustainable manner, current funding in agricultural innovation will need to be increased exponentially. Some estimates suggest up to USD 320 billion annually is required to help meet the UN SDG Goals for food and agriculture by 2030. Current levels of funding for agriculture and agricultural innovation fall far short of this and hence efforts to induce more funding for these goals, including through the use of new financing instruments1, is critical going forward.
The only specialized multilateral development institution focused exclusively on rural development, IFAD has successfully used agriculture as a means of poverty reduction – contributing ~USD 22 billion in funding to date1. About 90% of IFAD's portfolio is focused on Low to Middle Income (LMI) countries. IFAD stands out with its nutrition and gender-sensitive lenses coupled with investments in climate-resilient agriculture – mainstreaming nutrition, gender, and climate change work in agriculture.
El Catálogo latinoamericano de experiencias en agricultura familiar TEC 2018 presenta 31 soluciones innovadoras, que han logrado consolidarse como tecnologías sociales, o avanzan en tal dirección. Entendemos por tecnología social la innovación social estructurada por el conjunto de conocimientos, prácticas, métodos e instrumentos que han resuelto una problemática en una comunidad. Estas tecnologías que se caracterizan por su bajo costo, facilidad de aplicación y mínimo impacto ambiental, facilitan el proceso de apropiación por parte de otras comunidades.
Les agricultures familiales constituent la très grande majorité des agricultures du monde, la première source d’emploi en milieu rural et le premier fournisseur de biens alimentaires. Elles sont à l’honneur sur la scène internationale avec la proclamation par l’Organisation des Nations Unies de l’année 2014 « Année internationale de l'agriculture familiale » ; c’est l’occasion pour la communauté scientifique d’Agropolis International de témoigner de son fort engagement, depuis de nombreuses années, en matière de recherche « sur » et « pour » les agricultures familiales.