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"Research investments by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have generated hundreds of technologies," according to Dr. Nora Lapitan, Chief of the Research Division in USAID's Office of Food Security.

"For them to have an impact, they need to be scaled up."

Nora was speaking on Monday, September 9, 2019 in the Senegalese seaside resort of Somone. USAID and agricultural research stakeholders in West Africa have been considering the creation of a physical and virtual platform to better coordinate research activities, with the overriding aim of ensuring the adoption of innovations by end-users, planners and businesses.

"In an initial pilot phase of about four years, the platform will have a particular, though not exclusive, focus on USAID's Feed the Future and resilience zone activities in Senegal, Mali, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Niger," says a working paper currently under review by CORAF and USAID.

USAID's Research Division and its Feed the Future network of innovation labs produce hundreds of research results every year. USAID's West Africa Regional Mission and bilateral missions not only fund agricultural research activities, but also need the results to design their interventions.

"We envision this as a platform for coordinating, aligning and integrating research," added Dr. Nora. The result, she hopes, should be to meet the needs of key stakeholders, including producers, policymakers and the private sector.

At the meeting in Senegal between the main players from CORAF and USAID, the emphasis was on co-creation and co-development of the platform.

The platform's initial working documents provide for three key elements:

• Improve coordination, alignment and integration of relevant activities;
• Create and strengthen technology parks and facilitate the efficient flow of information and innovations;
• Strengthen human and institutional capacities.

Technology scaling, human and institutional capacity building and knowledge management are also at the heart of CORAF's 2018-2027 strategy.

"We appreciate this collaboration because it aligns perfectly with CORAF's strategic plan," says Dr Abbdulai Jalloh, CORAF's Director of Research and Innovation. CORAF's mandate is to coordinate agricultural research in West and Central Africa. It is the largest sub-regional research organization in Africa, covering 23 countries.

CORAF uses a variety of virtual and physical approaches to disseminate and scale up technologies and innovations. These include innovation platforms, technology fairs and an online technology marketplace known as MITA. To accelerate the supply and demand of seed technologies, CORAF uses an online platform called WASIX. It is currently deploying an online forecasting tool to facilitate the adoption of quality seeds, as well as a virtual platform to facilitate access to fertilizers and seeds.

Over two days, the two parties discussed the platform's added value, refined its objectives, target audience, purpose and possible measures of success.

With consensus almost reached on the scope and main components of the initiative, the parties will now turn their attention to logistics before moving on to implementation.

CORAF is expected to host the initiative with initial funding from USAID.

See also:

• A West African research coordination center on the horizon