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Actors from three major regional agricultural research programs in Africa met recently in Lusaka, Zambia, to share experiences and strengthen collaboration.

These include the Eastern Africa Agricultural Productivity Program(EAAPP), the Southern Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (APPSA) and the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP).

These programs have one thing in common: they promote cooperation in agricultural research and technology on the continent, and facilitate the sharing of agricultural information, knowledge and technology across national borders.

The Lusaka meeting not only offered stakeholders the opportunity to create networks and knowledge-sharing frameworks essential for future improvements, but also enabled lessons to be learned to improve current implementation as well as future interventions.

Huge potential, but little contribution to the agricultural economy

The agricultural sector employs around 70% of the continent's workforce. Yet, according to experts, productivity is still very low. Africa's total annual food imports are estimated at $35 billion, and this figure is set to rise to $110 billion by 2025.

At the initiative of the Regional Economic Communities, many African countries, in collaboration with the World Bank, have implemented major regional agricultural research and development programs over the last decade.

In West Africa, the WAPP was created at the initiative of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in response to the renewed commitment of African states to accelerate the implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme(CAADP). CORAF, the largest sub-regional research organization in Africa, is mandated to coordinate the implementation of the CAADP in West Africa.

What has been achieved under the PPAAO?

When the program began in 2007, its main objective was to reach six million people. According to available data, the program has far exceeded its initial objectives,reaching over 9 million people directly and 56 million indirectly.

Over two hundred technologies have been disseminated and adopted by nearly 4.5 million growers and processors on around 4.8 million hectares.

PPAAO has funded master's and doctoral studies for 1,021 young researchers, 72% of whom are men and 28% women. Some of these young researchers are already fully involved in the advancement of essential research in their respective countries.

Many observers point out that the PPAAO has been a huge success. And we have sought to learn from the WAPP, what worked, why and under what circumstances. PPAAO shared some lessons with its partners in Lusaka, and drew on some of them to make relevant improvements to the agricultural transformation program in West Africa.

Intensification of the cassava value chain

One of the innovative features of the PPAAO was the creation of national centers of specialization. Each of these centers has been assigned research leadership for a priority crop. These include the Center for Roots and Tubers (Ghana), Rice (Mali), Dry Cereals (Senegal), Fruits and Vegetables (Burkina Faso), Plantain (Côte d'Ivoire), Aquaculture (Nigeria), Maize (Benin), Livestock (Niger) and Mangrove Rice (Sierra Leone). To date, the Dry Cereals and Roots & Tubers centers based in Senegal and Ghana respectively have been transformed into regional centers of excellence. Others are in the process of obtaining this coveted status.

The particular features of these centers and their results were the subject of discussion.  

Participants recognized that research has helped to advance production and processing in the cassava value chain. They pointed out that this value chain has enormous potential for the economies of producing countries, and should be further developed and expanded.

EAAPP has published bio-fortified-hybrid maize varieties. EAAPP, which welcomed the enormous potential of these varieties, admitted that they could be introduced in West Africa, in particular by the Benin-based National Maize Specialization Center.

At the end of the meeting, participants recommended that governments and development partners invest more in the cassava value chain.

They also called for standardization of the concepts of National Center of Specialization, Regional Center of Excellence and Regional Leadership Center.

A similar experience-sharing meeting is already scheduled for next year in East Africa. Participants will be examining issues relating to livestock and dairy products, horticulture, fruit and vegetables, and coarse grains (sorghum and millet) in particular.