This presentation describes the process of the capacity needs assesment carried out by a consortium of organizations in Ethiopia, Nicaragua, Tanzania, Tunisia and Uganda. Starts describing the the methodology used for the assesment, then present the key finds and in the end gives some recommendations

The Nile Story is one of immense challenges and remarkable achievements for the economic development of the region. It begins in 1999, when the ministers in charge of water affairs in the Nile countries agreed to form the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI). Between 2003 and 2015, the Nile Basin Trust Fund (NBTF) supported and coordinated cooperative work in the region, which has been delivered mainly through the NBI.

Africa RISING (AR) is a research-for-development program that aims to create opportunities for smallholder farmers to move out of hunger and poverty through sustainable intensification of their farming systems.

Agricultural research continues to be a good investment. The studies show that investments in international and national agricultural research account for almost all of the total factor productivity (TFP) growth in SSA and large shares of agricultural growth globally. The existing agricultural research institutions have, on average, delivered rates of return to public investment above 30-40%, which is much higher than the 5-10% available to other public investments or the 2-5% cost of borrowing public funds.

Strategic management (STM) is recognized as an important element for firms’ success; however, small firms, especially in agribusiness, have widely been overlooked because it is often thought that a systematic STM is exclusively for large corporate firms. Firms engage in STM practices such as environmental analysis, formulation of mission and vision statements, strategic planning, implementation, evaluation, etc., regardless of their size.