Building multi-stakeholder partnerships:
the DURAS projects

Promotion de Developpement Durable dans les systemes de Recherche Agricole du Sud / Promoting Sustainable Development in Agricultural Research Systems

 

 

Supported by GFAR and by Agropolis International, the main objective of the DURAS Project was to contribute to strengthening the involvement of southern stakeholders’ particularly non-traditional research actors in the agricultural research and innovation process. It also aimed to support them in ensuring that their voices are heard at the international and (sub) regional levels. Under the DURAS competitive grants scheme, 12 different projects were selected and supported during 2 years. These projects, carried out in different countries, addressed the theme agro-biodiversity and genetic resources management for food security (2 of them); four tackled local knowledge in natural resources management; three dealt with agro-ecology and other sustainable farming practices; and another three addressed how to link farmers to market by supporting support to small and medium agro- enterprises (agri SMEs):

1. Caractérisation morphologique, zootechnique et génétique des populations locales de volailles de genre Gallus gallus dans les pays côtiers de l’Afrique occidentale (Université d’Abomey-Calavi – Bénin; Pays concernés: Bénin, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana)
2. Un réseau régional de plateformes d’échanges pour améliorer l'identification des besoins des agriculteurs et la diffusion de nouvelles variétés de bananier plantain (CARBAP-Cameroun; Pays concernés: Cameroun, Bénin, Gabon, Guinée)
3. Farmer Access to Innovation Resources. Action Research on Innovation Support Fund (Farmer Support Group-South Africa; Countries involved: S. Africa, Uganda, Cambodia, Sudan)
4. Innovations et savoirs paysans dans les pratiques de gestion des écosystèmes forestiers humides d’Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre : diversification des systèmes d’exploitation associant cultures pérennes et vivrières (IRAD-Cameroun; Pays concernés: Cameroun, Ghana, Guinee)
5. The implication of the local knowledge in the increasing integration of animal husbandry in the farming systems of disadvantaged communities (National Institute of Soil and Fertilizer- Vietnam; Countries involved: Vietnam, Laos)
6. Valoriser les savoirs paysans sur l'intégration agriculture élevage pour une gestion durable des écosystèmes des savanes subhumides de l'Afrique (CIRDES-Burkina Faso; Pays concernés: Burkina Faso, Mali, Tchad, Cameroun)
7. Approche intégrative de la gestion des nematodes phytoparasites en systèmes maraîchers mediterraaneens et sahéliens (Société MARISSA Groupe AZURA – Maroc; Pays concernés: Maroc, Algérie, Tunisie, Sénégal)

8. Appropriation par les Organisations de Producteurs d'Afrique de l'Ouest de la technologie d'inoculation avec des microorganismes améliorant la production végétale (CLCOP de Keur Momar Sarr- Sénégal; Pays concernés: Sénégal, Burkina Faso)
9. Linking farmers to markets through valorisation of local resources: the case for intellectual property rights of indigenous resources (University of Pretoria – South Africa; Countries involved: South Africa, Namibia)
10. Improving the pig and pig meat marketing chain to enable small producers to serve consumer needs in Vietnam and Cambodia (Vietnam Agricultural Science Institute; Countries involved: Vietnam, Cambodia)
11. Poverty and Pace Setters (POPS). From sector support for farm products marketing to targeting entrepreneurs by building networks among poverty struck (Centre for Rural Economic Development Research-Vietnam; Countries involved: Vietnam, Kenya)
12. Production de malts de sorgho ou de mil de qualité pour la production alimentaire artisanale ou semi-industrielle en Afrique de l’Ouest (CERNA-Burkina Faso; Pays concernés: Burkina Faso; Bénin)

 

 

Almost at the end of the time period, two separate workshops were organized in 2008, aiming at documenting and analyzing the experience gained in building multi-stakeholder partnership in implementing the 12 DURAS-funded projects. The first workshop (held on 16-19 January 2008 in Hanoi, Vietnam) was for the 7 anglophone projects. It gathered together around 20 participants from three Southeast Asian countries (i.e., Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam), from Kenya and France. The second workshop (held on 11-15 February 2008 in Cotonou, Benin) was organised for the francophone projects. A total of 32 participants from eight West African countries (i.e., Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Gabon, Guinée, Ivory Coast, Mali, and Senegal) and from France took part in this event.

During the workshops, participants discussed and defined indicators which can be used in analyzing and evaluating success and partnership quality of their respective projects using different criteria (e.g., participation, knowledge management, capacity building/ empowerment, and institutionalization). Thereafter, each project was to prepare an article highlighting the process and partnership dimension of their respective initiative. ILEIA provided support during these workshops. Jorge Chavez-Tafur and Karen Hampson co-facilitated the anglophone workshop, while francophone event was co-facilitated by Awa Faly Ba Mbow of Innovation, Environnement, Développement (IED-Afrique), Frank van Schoubroeck (ILEIA) and Henri Hocdé (CIRAD). These lessons learnt were presented in the DURAS Project Closing Workshop, in June 2008, which was organized under the auspices of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR). A special publication that will feature lessons learned on each of the 12 projects as well as their research findings will be prepared and disseminated.

 

How did the documentation process go?

More information?
Please write to Oliver Oliveros, at the DURAS Project Office
Cellule du Projet Agropolis International
Avenue Agropolis F-34394, Montpellier CEDEX 5, France
E-mail: duras@agropolis.fr
http://www.duras-project.net

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