News

• CORAF and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) have launched the fifth phase of the Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI) program;
• Funded by the'United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the fifth iteration of the program will provide usable data on agricultural research and development in the twenty-three (23) West and Central African (WCA) countries covered by CORAF ;
• Decision-makers and other stakeholders are expected to base their decisions on the data produced by the program, to encourage the transformation of food systems into WCAs.

On May 12, 2022, CORAF and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) officially launched the fifth phase of the Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI) program.

The launch took place during a virtual meeting attended by some forty people, including representatives of Regional Economic Communities (RECs), research institutes belonging to National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) under the umbrella of CORAF, and representatives of CORAF's other technical and financial partners.

"The ASTI program aims to provide information to stakeholders and generate knowledge about the inputs, performance and outcomes of agricultural research and development systems in low- and middle-income countries. It provides a solid basis for long-term monitoring of agricultural research and development investments and capacities", said Dr Gert-Jan STADS, Senior Program Manager at IFPRI. 

The ASTI program is an IFPRI initiative launched in 2001.

The fifth phase of the program is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The program will be implemented by CORAF under an agreement concluded in September 2021, across its twenty-three (23) member states in West and Central Africa (WCA).

The program's objectives are in line with CORAF's priorities. 

"Providing relevant, high-quality data and analysis on agricultural research for development for member countries has always been a priority for CORAF, as set out in the 2018-2022 Operational Plan on 'Strengthening institutional and human capacities in agricultural research for development'," recalls Dr Emmanuel NJUKWE, CORAF's Director of Research and Innovation. 

This partnership aims to encourage African Agricultural Research for Development (AR4D) institutions in WCA, where CORAF is the leading institution and technical arm of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) in AR4D, to take ownership of ASTI.

Program components

The fifth phase of the program is based on three (03) components:

• Component 1: Data collection

With CORAF as lead partner, it will be implemented in partnership with the NARS leaders of the implementing countries and IFPRI. It will involve data collection, consolidation and validation.

• Component 2: Data analysis

This component will be jointly implemented by CORAF, IFPRI and national focal points. Its objectives are to examine the performance, trends, strengths, weaknesses and challenges of investments in agricultural research and development systems in WCA, to assess the impact of investments in the sector, to carry out a prospective analysis of the future performance of research systems under different investment scenarios, and to strengthen analytical capacities in the countries.

• Component 3: Raising awareness

It will focus on the wide-scale dissemination, at national and regional levels, of the project's analyses and key findings. It will also explore ways of integrating ASTI results into wider agricultural policy decision-making processes.

Ultimately, the program aims to provoke a disruptive approach to decision-making and influence WCA policy on agricultural research and development for development.

"This partnership between CORAF and IFPRI, supported by USAID, will help to sustainably transform food systems in WCA, and contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goal No. 2, 'Zero Hunger'," said CORAF's Director of Research and Innovation.

Stakeholders recognize that the results of the ASTI program can be a powerful decision-making tool, and call for the institutionalization of the ASTI approach.

At the launch, Dr Manson NWAFOR, Expert Policy Analyst at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), called for the ASTI approach to be institutionalized at country level, so that these data can be introduced into their basket of indicators to ensure that they constantly generate available, up-to-date data on agricultural research and development.

The program launch will be followed by training for country-level focal points on ASTI methodology, data collection and analysis, and publication of results.

The project will run until the end of 2022. However, some activities are planned until the second quarter of 2023, such as national publications to be prepared by CORAF, IFPRI and national focal points.