Better farming practices could boost food production among small holder farmers. Many African governments’ invest in agriculture as a key mean to grow the economy and reduce poverty. But many of these investments or policies have not sufficiently incorporated research findings even when those are available. Therefore, AgriFoSe 2030 arranged a course where 30 agricultural researchers from Sub Saharan Africa met for three days in Nairobi, to learn and to discuss how knowledge exchange between researchers and policy makers can be improved.
Presentations were mixed with practical assignments on different approaches for mapping the policy context and distilling key messages.
-There is definitively a demand for credible researchers with robust findings. But researchers need to be willing to share their knowledge, said Dr. Moses Ikiara, in an inspiring presentation. He is the former executive director of Kenyan Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) and now head of Kenya’s Investment Authority.
The course was organised by the AgriFoSe 2030 programme and implemented by Anders Ekbom, Olof Drakenberg, Madelene Ostwald and Daniel Slunge from the Centre for Environment and Sustainability, GMV, at Chalmers and University of Gothenburg.
Elie Antoine Padonou presents his research to policy plan for Madelene Ostwald, Hugues Bazie, Vroh Aimé and Josiah Sanou.
-It has been very useful for me. I will bring these tools and approaches back to my department and discuss how we can take this further, says Simon Shomkegh, senior lecturer at the University of Agriculture Makurdi, Nigeria.
This course was held prior to an AgriFoSe2030 workshop on how to bridge science with policy and practice. Read the news story about the workshop here.
Spara
