FOR IM
MMEDIAT
TE RELEASE
hing of a New Inittiative Aiimed at Exploring
E
g African
Launch
Opporttunities for
f
Sustainable Fo
ood Syste
ems
Sustainab
ble improveement of fo
ood and nu
utrition secu
urity and th
he livelihood
ds of Africa
an farmers are at isssue when 23 2 African and Europ
pean researrch partnerrs strike ou
ut ation on a lo
ong term ressearch and iinnovation eeffort. The fo
ocus of the p
partnership is collabora
on sustaiinable intensification off the agro‐fo
ood system iin Africa. ACCRA, GHANA. Ap
pril 22, 2015 - The FARA Secretarriat hosted a gathering of high lev
vel representatives of 23
3 African and
d European institutions at the FARA
A Secretariat,, between 21‐
ms to explore 23 April, 2015 for the kick‐off off the ProInteensAfrica initiative. The initiative aim
nities for susstainable foo
od systems in
n Africa and Europe. opportun
ntensAfrica is a partnerrship initiative between
n Africa and Europe on the issues of The ProIn
sustainab
ble intensificcation of Aggriculture. TThe project currently in
nvolves 23 research an
nd developm
ment organizzation, 15 arre drawn fro
om Europe aand eight fro
om Africa. Th
he initiative is a forerunner projecct supported
d by the European E
Co
ommission to help forrm the initiial hips and deevelop a fundable prop
posal for a long term initiative on agriculturral partnersh
intensificcation tagge
ed IntenseAffrica. The Gh
hana's Min
nister of Environm
ment, Science, Technolo
ogy and In
nnovation, Honorable Mahamaa Ayariga carried out the official launchingg of the project on the 23rd
d April 201
15. In an opening addresss, the Honourable minister d that indicated
the “ProInten
nsAfrica is a a laudable Official launchhing of the ProoIntensAfrica CConsortium. FLL. Dr Martin Krropff, (WUR); Dr Yem
mi Akinbamijo
o, (FARA); Hon. Minister Mah
hama Ayariga,, Dr. initiative that will help address Patrick Caron,, (CIRAD) some of the challengges facing or in Africa’’ he assured FARA and other stakeho
olders at thee workshop of the agricultural secto
naian Govern
nment's com
mmitment to
o making agrriculture a successful an
nd sustainab
ble the Ghan
livelihood. He further thanked the European Union (EU) for committing resources and expertise to the program. The Honorable Minister appealed to the research community in the agricultural sector to make their research findings available to farmers and other stakeholders, who will need them to improve their work and livelihoods. In a welcome remark at the occasion, The Executive director of FARA, Dr. Yemi Akinbamijo reaffirmed FARA’s confidence in “working together, pulling together and delivering together” as an important working principle that will enhance our individual and collective relevance and impact. He further indicated the role of science in generation of sustainable solution to major agricultural problems confronting the Africa continent. The Director General of Agriculture at the European Union (EU), Mr. Marc Donponcel, in a keynote paper expressed the commitment of the European Commision to partner with the stakeholders of ProIntensAfrica to make it a success. He expressed the commitment of the EC to the program, planned to be in a more engaging manner; compared to the previous practice of just committing funds to the program and expecting the outcomes. “The EC will participate in the entire work plan and other process from the beginning to the end” he indicated. He further expressed his conviction that the ProIntensAfrica will ultimately benefit Africa and Europe. During the kickoff meeting the Executive Director of FARA, Dr Yemi Akinbamijo, Dr. Patrick Caron (CIRAD) and Dr Martin Kropff (WUR) signed the Consortium Agreement in the presence of the other Consortium members present. The Consortium Agreement is the instrument that gives legal backing to the partnership arrangement within the program. And it represents a significant milestone in the history of ProIntensAfrica. It also paves the way for the implementation of the program activities. Following the elaborate launch of the program, the ProIntensAfrica will run for two years to develop a fundable proposal and effective partnership framework for the long standing IntensAfrica program. Signing of the ProIntenseAfrica Consortium Agreement. table, FL. Dr Patrick Caron (CIRAD), Dr Yemi Akinbamijo, (FARA), Dr Martin Kropff (WUR) African partners in the ProIntensAfrica project project are: FARA (Ghana), CORAF/WECARD (Senegal), CCARDESA (Botswana), ASARECA (Uganda), AFAAS (Uganda), ARC (South Africa), CSRI‐CRI (Ghana) and INERA (Burkina Faso). European partners are: Wageningen UR (The Netherlands), CIRAD (France), UCL (Belgium), SLU (Sweden), IICT (Portugal), Luke (Finland), University of Copenhagen (Denmark), ZEF (Germany), INIA (Spain), NRI (England), Teagasc (Ireland), BOKU (Austria), University of Life Sciences (Czech Republic), University Szent Istvan (Hungary) and Bioforsk (Norway). For more information please contact: Huub Löffler, Wageningen UR [email protected] Tel. +31‐317‐486806 Yemi Akinbamijo PhD, FARA [email protected] Tel. +233 (302)772823 Philippe Petithuguenin, Cirad [email protected] Tel. +33‐ (0) 4 67 61 44 40 ###