Organised by GFAR in collaboration with: TAP / PAEPARD

gfar-secretariat@fao.org

Agents of Change in Capacity Development for Agricultural Innovation:

The Value of Facilitators

Presenters/Programme• Karin Nichterlein & Christian Grovermann (FAO, Rome)• Gilbert Kayitare (CDAIS, Rwanda)• Veronica Bejarano (Cooperative Lempira Sur, Honduras)

Q&A

• Eveline Sawadogo (INERA, Burkina Faso)• Patrice Sewade (SOJAGNON/PAEPARD, Benin)

Q&A

Moderation: Charles Plummer / Peter Casier (GFAR, Rome)

Tropical Agriculture Platform (TAP)

Karin Nichterlein and Christian GrovermannFAO Research & Extension Unit

Tropical Agriculture Platform (TAP) Secretariat

Tropical Agriculture Platform

Global partnership fostering coherence & greater impact of capacity development for innovation in agriculture

Advocacy and policy dialogue

(all levels)

Common Framework

(systems CD)

TAPipedia knowledge hub

(network & resources)

Partners

2012

20132014

• TAP launched

• Regional needs assessments

• 1st Partners Assembly in China

• EU funds mobilized (CDAIS by Agrinatura & FAO)

• TAP Global Task Force & CD Expert Group launched

2015

• CDAIS project launched to support implementation of TAP Action Plan

• TAP Framework and TAPipedia developed

Major milestones

2016

• Partner Assembly in Rwanda• Framework & TAPipedia approved• Country CD for AIS assessments• NIF Trainings, M&E Tools• E-conference, symposium & other

events

Project

Making agricultural innovation systems more effective and sustainable in

meeting the demands of farmers, agri-business and consumers.

The 5 stages of the CD for AIS Cycle

Participatory assessments and CD design in 8 countries

INCEPTION WORKSHOPS & CONSULTATIONS NEEDS AND BASELINE ASSESSMENTS

MARKETPLACES→Training Manual

→ Toolbox

FACILITATOR TRAININGS

FOR MORE INFORMATION:http://www.fao.org/in-action/tropical-agriculture-platform/en/

http://www.tapipedia.org/

THANK YOU

Agents of Change in Capacity Development for Agricultural

Innovation: The Value of Facilitators

March 1, 2017

Project

Gilbert KayitareCPM - CDAIS Rwanda

• Rwanda is one of the 8 countries of CDAIS• CDAIS partners with national/international

organizations• Aims to make AIS functioning better in Rwanda

By improving people and organisations’ capacities

The process needs partnership and facilitation

Stakeholders selected 5 priority areas of intervention (niche/partnership/value chains):

1. Cassava value chain 2. Dairy processing 3. Nutrition4. Intensification of crop and

livestock production and 5. Horticulture

10 people/innovation facilitators (willing to lean) appointed by partnering institutions: 1. Ministry of Agriculture and Animal

Resources2. Rwanda Agriculture Board3. Capacity Building and Employment

service Board4. Workforce Development Authority

(dealing TVET)5. National Agricultural Export Board6. University of Rwanda7. College of Agriculture8. Private Sector

The group got trained by CDAIS global team on a set of facilitation skills:

– Working in a team, – How to approach stakeholders in a system,– Understanding Innovation/change process

+ management– Facilitation and negotiation skills,– Interaction, collaboration and networking– Analyzing the context and thinking of a

system– Use of different capacity needs

assessment tools (time line, problem tree, netmap, questionnaires etc.)

Facilitation process

Facilitated the participatory capacity needs assessment process in the 5 niches. E.g.

– Discussions to better understand the niche/role of actors (e.g. cassava vc),

– Use of tools to diagnose the constraints/partnership level,

– Package a set of capacity needs,– Action plan to address the needs– CD process

Results – Common understanding and

commitment among stakeholders about AIS needs, challenges, opportunities, vision and initial actionable recommendations for improvement in all value chains

– Raised understanding of importance of partnership among Stakeholders,

– Highlighted needed capacities for better functioning of AIS,

Challenges– Low level of participation of influential

actors,– Language at local level– Different interests (strong support)

Roles of Innovation facilitators

Next steps

• Strengthening of these capacities of stakeholders @all levels

• Raise awareness of AIS and functional capacities in their own institutions

Lessons Learnt• There is will to partner, • AIS approach is new, takes time to

engage, • Hence, facilitation is key• At niche level, collaboration among

stakeholders is not clearly working • Due to existing favorable

environment and will, it is possible to strengthen the AI systems

• CDAIS tools will make these partnerships profitable along the agricultural value chains in Rwanda

Than

k you

Agents of Change in Capacity Development for Agricultural Innovation:

The Value of Facilitators

Veronica Bejarano, National Innovation Facilitator of the Cocoa Niche

Cooperativa Mixta Lempira Sur– Honduras

Project

General Information about Honduras

Honduras is one of the eight pilot countries participating in the CDAIS Project.

The objective of the Project is to develop a national vision about Capacity Development for the Agricultural Innovation System and to establish an Action Plan to develop capacities and strengthen the existing ones.

It is working with four niches, which are: Potatoes Beans Coffee Cocoa

Project

Selection criteria of the niches

1. Organization, comercialization and production experiences

2. Multi-stakeholders participation

3. Representative territory

4. The multi-stakeholders should not be disperse

5. Others ongoing projects and international organizations present in the region

Project

Involvement of Innovation Facilitators in the Capacity Development Process

Multiple organizations and institutions were invited to nominate candidates to be considered in the selection process of the National Innovation Facilitators (NIFs).

12 National Innovation Facilitators were selected and trained on the use of different tools to assess capacity needs and to develop an action plan to address the identified needs.

After this, the stakeholder from each niche were invited to participate in the Capacity Needs Assessment (CNA).

Engagement of the Regional Center of the Atlantic Coast for Education (CURLA) has been important in this process.

Project

Role of the faciltators

To conduct the capacity needs assessment through a participatory process.

To facilitate the formulation of an action plan for capacity development, in close consultation with the stakeholders.

To contribute to the implementation of the agreed action plan.

Project

Skills of the facilitators

Capacity to negotiate and manage conflicts.

Hability to work in a team.

Capacity to analize and make alliances with institutions.

Capacity to communicate and promote dialogue.

Project

Achievements during the facilitation process

All the facilitators applied the proposed methodology during the visits for the capacity needs assessment.

Participation of additional stakeholders.

All the reports were shared with the stakeholders.

The tools used to assess capacity needs were explained to the stakeholders.

The results were shared with others stakeholders, who could not participate in the process.

Project

Challenges during the Facilitation Process

Motivation of the different stakeholders in the cocoa niche to participate in the capacity needs assessment.

Engagement of the public sector.

Organization of stakeholder’s networks.

Project

Project

THANK YOU

Questions/Remarks

Agents of Change in Capacity Development forAgricultural Innovation: The Value of Facilitators

Eveline Compaore Sawadogo, PhDAssociate Researcher, Environment and Agricultural Research Institute

Burkina Faso

FAO Webinar 1 March 2017

Introduction

Brief presentation of Burkina Faso Who are the NIFs in Burkina Faso which skills they need? Which kind of knowledge they need? Is there a need for NIFs?

What is necessary for them to play their role? What CDAIS partners can do in this

The Country Burkina Faso

Landlocked Francophone West African Country Up to 90% of the population are farmers NIFs have existed for such a long time and have

experience more or less successful differentdiffusion approaches since the countryindependency

Up to now, the socio-economic conditions havenot changed much so far despite thegovernment’s development efforts.

Who are the Innovation facilitators inBurkina Faso

In BF, there are 3 categories:

Policy level facilitators : policy makers

Operational level facilitators: technical agricultural agents,

Those who develop new solutions Researchers and engineers,

Skills and resources needed to effectivelyfacilitate interventions for operational level

NIFs in BF

Able to describe/operate the innovativesolution

Being flexible and demonstrate positivedisposition multi-tasks and attached to

details Communicate technical information clear

in the language of the farmers with non-technical words

Respectful of communities’ values andnorms by sharing the lives of the farmers

Have strong analytical skills in order tofacilitate assessment and able to bringfarmers, researchers, and other operationalactors for collaborative initiative

Able to apply participatory methods andtools and coordinate groups(managerialskills)

Able to writeFarmer explaining their work to researchersin the presence of technical agents in 2016

Financial service representatives, technicalagents, researchers and farmers during field visit in2016

The skills and resources neededto effectively facilitateinterventions for Policy level NIFs

The skills they need are the same as above but at different levelWhat they do: Formulate policy documents Organize tests to recruit technical agents and provide them with

training

However, in BF those policy level facilitators are not really in action at theirlevel as operational level facilitators. Eg it is only in 2011 that a ministry ofinnovation was created and first policy documents were elaborated bymainly science and engineering researchers without social scientists.

The skills and resources neededto effectively facilitateinterventions for Researchers/inventors and innovators

What they do: Transfer, create and introduce new agricultural

solutions Formulate the tools for technical agents

Provide technical agents with specific training forspecific problem

Transfer, develop and introduce new AI policies

They sometime take the position of the technical agentand play the operational level NIFs role. Thus, they needthe same skills so that they can be effective.In BF those researchers are in action in the field astechnical agents are. They communicate directly withthe farmers. As a researcher I spend time on the fieldtraining, advising and collecting data with formers onspecific innovations.

Researcher assisting atechnical agent on thefield for diffusion of soilimprovementtechnologies in 2016

Which kind of knowledge NIFs need?

Knowledge needed for Technical Agents Understand group dynamics -in order to

appreciate the relevance of participatoryapproach

Understand the intervention framework(approach, e.g. AIS) within which s/he works

Knowledge needed forResearchers/inventors and innovators

Understand group dynamics -in order toappreciate the relevance of participatory

approach Understand the intervention framework

(approach) within which s/he works Knowledge needed for Policy-makers

Understand the intervention framework(approach) within which s/he works Presentation of STIP programme

to CDAIS’s facilitators duringCDAIS training workshop in 2016

Is there a need for innovationfacilitators? Why

Having said what is above, I acknowledge that there is a need forNIFs at policy as well as operational levels because innovationremain a learning and collective process.

Thus, innovation cannot be promoted if there is nobody to do suchjob as for eg agricultural technical agent do.

For now, all these facilitators at policy and operational levels stilllack knowledge on AIS despite previous efforts.

As a result, the university of Ouaga II in collaboration with fewexperts including myself have began the reflection on tackling theproblem through a training programme: STIP!.

What works and what does not yet work so well?How it can be improved?

NIFs at operational level are very active in daily basis in the communities(they advice, conduct experiments, collect data etc.)

However, Training is key, research is another key And this is what the University of Ouaga II’s Interuniversity research and

training program on ‘Science, Technology, Innovation and Public Policy’ isset to do.

However, such a programme lack financial ressources to be moreoperational in training operational and policy level NIFs on AIS approachwhich require time and mentoring.

Conclusion

What is needed in Burkina Faso in my pointof view and that we have began to develop

since 2014 is a support to the existingprogramme initiative in a sub regional

francophone in order to update theknowledge of the existing NIFs whoimplemented previous approaches, so thatthey can understand the AIS new dynamismand also train a new generation of socialscientists in AIS

As for now, in Burkina Faso, people haveheard about the AIS concept since the

2000s, but they still lack knowledge on howit can be use to implement innovation.

If operational NIFs are very active in BF, sofar their behaviors and actions do not reallyreflect AIS framework

Researcher(myself) in AISfacilitating learning during afield visit in 2016

Many thanks for your attention

Eveline Compaore Sawadogo, PhDcompeve@yahoo.fr

Agents of Change in Capacity Development for Agricultural Innovation: The Value of Facilitators

Patrice SewadeCoordinator of SOJAGNON Godomey-Togoudo, Benin

Introduction• Sojagnon is an association of farmers’ organizations in Benin • We lead a PAEPARD multi-stakeholder research and innovation

partnership (Consortium Sojagnon Benin) since 2009• Our consortium works with women soy processors in 8 municipalities• PAEPARD is funded by the EU

Photo Credit: SOJAGNON

Consortium Sojagnon Benin (CSB) • Objective : Increased household income through improved food chain of soybean

derived products (milk and afitin)• Partners - Four African: University of Abomey-Calavi (FSA/LSA) and INRAB as

researchers; farmers organization (FUPRO) and Sojagnon as practitioners and; two European research partners: WU/FQD, Isa-Lisboa

UAC/FSA/LSA and WU/FQD work to release soy Afitin innovations INRAB and Isa-Lisboa work to release soy milk innovations FUPRO: mobilization of stakeholders Sojagnon : coordination, communication and dissemination

• Duration - CRF is a 3 years PAEPARD funded project

CSB Agricultural Innovation Facilitators

• PAEPARD supported capacity development of agricultural

innovation facilitators (AIFs) and consortium coordinators -

organized training workshops, writeshops and networking events

• Consensus was reached among PAEPARD partners and beneficiaries

on the need for neutral AIFs (external facilitators)

• PAEPARD assigned two AIFs to the CSB

Role of the AIF • Facilitate the development of a public-private partnership (PPP) around the

soybean value chain in Benin

• Mobilize relevant actors and build synergy for the research and innovation

partnership

• Ensure ownership of the soybean R&I projects (problem identification,

objectives, activities, expected results)

• Facilitate equitable collaboration among the various actors involved

The innovation process: CSB• The coordinator / AIF facilitated the knowledge sharing platform and setting of

the innovation agenda by:

experimenting with and learning from new processing techniques

enhancing organizational and institutional capacity and business skills

promoting co-creation of knowledge

• The enabling environment was important for building trust. The partnership

was defined by a consortium agreement signed by all partners and registered

Results Re-engineered Soybean Afitin and Soybean Milk processing

technologies in South and Central Benin (ProSAM)

Developed capacity of the association Sojagnon in:

facilitating multi-stakeholder partnership: farmers organizations

and researchers (African and European Partners);

project development and management (now able to develop joint

funding proposals to support innovation in the soya value chain)

Shelf life of the soy milk prolonged up to 6 months, was

less that 24 hours before

• Soy-based taste enhancers are being developed.

Lessons learned: The innovation process• Researchers are more involved in development activities as they interact with end-users.

Mindset of researchers and end-users has changed

• Integration of researchers and practitioners’ knowledge leads to novel outcomes

• Encourages better understanding and inclusion of end-users’ needs

• Improving the quality and productivity of soybean food products and linking processors to

markets, enhances their capacity to generate more income

• Benefits the local economy – increased employment and income

• Searching for funding together to sustain the partnership has become a permanent activity

Lessons learned: Facilitation (AIF)What went well AIFs support multi-stakeholder participation, mobilization, learning and behavior change of key actors;

researchers, policy makers and non-research actors Having external AIFs play an important role in the inception phase of the innovation process and then

allowing leadership and ownership to pass to consortium members/partners Building a pool of AIFS / a community of practice is vital – Facilitation is not a one-off activity

What did not go well/ Pitfalls to avoid Tension between internal (coordinator) and external facilitators affects trust and leads to conflict

Clarify roles of external AIFs and coordinator (coordinator may be more knowledgeable on technical matters) early in the process

External facilitation can be costly (build capacity of consortium)

Thank you

Questions/Remarks

Organised by GFAR in collaboration with: TAP / PAEPARD

gfar-secretariat@fao.org

Agents of Change in Capacity Development for Agricultural Innovation:

The Value of Facilitators