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CORAF and the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) are jointly implementing, with other organizations (AFAAS, ASARECA, CCARDESA), the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme ex-Pillar 4 (CAADP-XP4). These different organizations work hand in hand to strengthen agricultural research for development (AR4D) and promote the systemic use of science, knowledge and innovation.

Strengthening the database of AR4D experts in West Africa

At a workshop held from September 4 to 9, 2023 in Ouagadougou, CORAF and FARA teams examined the process of setting up the database of experts in agricultural research for development in West and Central Africa and upgrading the CAADP-XP4 monitoring-evaluation platform.

"This meeting is of great importance to us, because FARA's role is to coordinate the activities that all the regional institutions in charge of agriculture are carrying out on the African continent ", said Anselme VODOUNHESSI, FARA's Chief Monitoring and Evaluation Expert.

"CORAF had signed a memorandum of understanding with FARA since January 2020. This agreement has two main objectives: (i) to strengthen the monitoring and evaluation system of the CAADP-XP4 program, and (ii) to set up a database of experts in research for development in West and Central Africa ", explains Amadou NGAIDO, CAADP-XP4 monitoring and evaluation specialist at CORAF.

The experts gathered in Ouagadougou worked as a network to coordinate regional agricultural activities. The results of this workshop include the improvement of the CAADP XP4 monitoring-evaluation and learning system, the revision of the requirements for the implementation of the CORAF agricultural research for development experts database, and the development of an action plan to complete the remaining tasks in the memorandum of understanding between CORAF and FARA.

Exchange and learning between CORAF and FARA

Following this workshop, CORAF undertook a knowledge exchange mission with FARA from September 25 to 29, 2023. The CORAF delegation reviewed the operational infrastructure and products of FARA's knowledge management system including the knowledge portal known as FARADataInformS, the expert directory, the digital archiving system and the community of practice. The team also took the opportunity to examine the technical architecture that supports these different knowledge management platforms. The two teams drew up a joint action plan to ensure better follow-up of the actions and recommendations arising from this knowledge exchange mission.

The two organizations continue to mobilize their respective strengths in knowledge management, information technology and monitoring and evaluation to accelerate the achievement of the objectives of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), and to support farmers and other stakeholders in realizing their full potential.