News

The Advisory Committee of the Hub de coordination de la recherche, de l'innovation et du conseil agricole (iREACH) held its second meeting on August 18, 2022.

The two-hour virtual meeting brought together over twenty participants, including members of the Advisory Committee, to review progress made in setting up agricultural technology parks (ATPs) in the countries implementing the initiative, and to discuss future directions.  

PTAs are one of iREACH's strategic levers for demonstrating agricultural technologies and innovations in real-life conditions.

By way of analogy, CORAF's Executive Director, Dr Abdou TENKOUANO, declared that "Agricultural technology parks can be considered as supermarkets and the technologies on display as products on the shelves, where customers can go to acquire what they need, along with instructions for use".

Based on the presentations made by the respective managers, the Committee was able to note the ATPs established in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger and Senegal, with a fairly advanced state of progress and several technologies already available and others, to be acquired or in the process of being acquired.

"When we compare where we are today with where we were when we started, it's phenomenal and very exciting. We have five agricultural technology parks when we were only expecting two," enthused Dr Jan MIDDENDORF, Vice-Chairwoman of the iREACH Advisory Board. 

However, a number of challenges have been noted by PTA managers in the process. These include delays or irregularity in wintering, and delays and difficulties in acquiring certain technologies.

A delegation from the Sustainable Intensification Innovation Lab (SIIL) at Kansas State University (KSU) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is scheduled to visit PTAs in West Africa in the coming months, during planned open days.

iREACH is a USAID-funded initiative designed to address the lack of coordination of research activities financed by the Agency in West Africa, more specifically in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger and Senegal. 

CORFA is responsible for managing the initiative. 

"The main aim of iREACH is to avoid duplication of research activities in target countries and to promote synergies, for a better contribution to food and nutritional security", emphasized Prof Niéyidouba LAMIEN, iREACH Manager at CORAF.

Read also:

• iREACH holds pioneering Advisory Board meeting
• Outsmarting the weather to supply farmers with quality seeds at all times
• The Bambey Technology Park: a showcase for proven agricultural technologies
• A West African research coordination center on the horizon