News

The annual meeting of CORAF's Scientific and Technical Committee (STC) is being held in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, from Thursday, October 31 to Friday, November 1, 2019, with the overriding aim of promoting the scientific excellence of programs and initiatives.

The STC is a technical body with advisory responsibilities to the CORAF Governing Board (GB) and Executive Secretariat.

It meets once a year to review past and current programs, and to provide input for planned initiatives.

More specifically, CST members will review progress in implementing the West African Agricultural Productivity Program (PPAAO), the Partnership for Agricultural Research, Education and Development (PAIRED), the Fruit Fly Project and the West African Economic and Monetary Union-funded project in priority areas such as livestock, cotton and maize. CST members will also have the opportunity to contribute to a new program in the pipeline(Science-led Agricultural Climate Transformation in West and Central Africa - SISTA), as well as to PAIRED's 2020 work plan. SISTA is funded by the European Union and administered by the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

The STC will also review the new results framework of CORAF's Operational Plan (OP) 2018-2022. The next (27th) CORAF Board meeting to be held in January 2020 is expected to review and approve the OP indicators and targets. The STC's recommendations will enable Board members to make informed decisions.

Isaac Roger Tchoumo from Cameroon will chair the meeting. CORAF's Director of Innovation and Research, Dr Abdulai Jalloh, will facilitate the meeting. The current STC is made up of twelve members from various disciplines in West and Central African countries. It is made up of six women and six men.

The expected results of the 15th CST meeting are presented below:

• Projects and programs implemented in 2018/2019 are reviewed;
• The work plan and budget for 2020 projects and programs are reviewed and recommendations made for effective implementation;
• Indicators and targets for the 2018-2022 Operational Plan are reviewed and approved for consideration by the Board of Directors;
• Evaluation of applications for the CORAF consultant roster and formulation of recommendations for implementation;
• The main thematic areas of scientific orientation aligned with the OP have been identified, and possible CST support has been determined and proposed;
• Recommendations to the Board of Directors concerning the direction of science are drafted for presentation by the Chairman at the next Board meeting.

Read also:

• CORAF STC member honoured