In December, AFAAS joined other Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme ex-Pillar 4 (CAADP-XP4) partner organisations (ASARECA, CCARDESA, CORAF and Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA)) at the project’s first Knowledge Management for Agricultural Development (KM4AgD) conference.
Hosted by FARA the hybrid continental conference brought together knowledge management experts of the different partner institutions implementing the 4-year – Supporting implementation of a Science Led and Climate Relevant Agricultural Transformation in Africa (SISTA) programme.
Knowledge management is output 4 of the programme aimed to develop a coordinated framework and infrastructure that makes available climate-relevant Science Technology and Innovation (STI) to support National Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (NAKIS) in learning and sharing opportunities.
According to Dr. Silim Nahdy, AFAAS Executive Director, knowledge management is critical tool to the extension and advisory services that provide the interface with farmers to disseminate innovations, new technologies, information and knowledge to mitigate climate change, manage their soils, improve their yields and incomes and improve their country’s GDP.
The conference looked at how agricultural institutions can improve knowledge management to support their research outputs and new innovations and generate resources for disseminating and generate income for their institutions.
In her keynote address Dr Sarah Cummings Director, Knowledge for Development Partnership (K4DP) noted that deficiencies in the dissemination of agricultural knowledge are not mainly due to a lack of knowledge, people, or money. However, it is the business models that agricultural institutions use that lack motivation for impactful delivery of knowledge as a service.
The conference inaugurated a new cadre of professionals equipped with skills and networks to advance the KM4AgD agenda in Africa
AFAAS champions certified during the KM Conference. From left to right: Malawi CIKM, Ethiopian CIKM, RESCAR/Cameroon CIKM, Uganda CIKM
Wrapping up the 2021 maiden edition of the conference results of the KM4AgD Challenge were announced and the participants presented their certificates as “AR4D KM Agents,” and inducted into the Africa KM4AgD Community of Practice for Artificial Intelligence where they will network with the wider KM global Community. The participants also showcased their products/outputs
FARA with the other CAADP XP4 organisation initiated the KM4AgD Challenge in July 2021 to build appropriate capacities, establish communities of practice for Knowledge Management (Artificial Intelligence) and strengthen mechanisms for knowledge generation to accelerate the achievement of the CAADP Malabo goals by 2025 and the SDGs by 2030.
The KM4AgD Challenge touted to be a lighthouse project for knowledge-based development in AR4D in Africa will be held annually in a growing number of countries where.
FARA Executive Director, Dr.Yemi Akinbamijo described the conference as an exceptional event and that with the support of everyone, Africa can be well supported by home grown solutions drawn from a knowledge management ecosystem for agricultural development.
The overall objective of the SISTA programme is to enable agricultural research and innovation, including extension services, to contribute effectively to food and nutrition security, economic development and climate mitigation in Africa.
The CAADP XP4 organizations secured funding from the European Union (EU) under the Development Smart Innovation through Research in Agriculture (DeSIRA) initiative to implement the SISTA programme.
For more information on the KM4AgD: https://km4agd.faraafrica.org/
