After three (03) days of activities, the symposium on the state of agricultural research for development (AR4D) in West and Central Africa (WCA) ended in Cotonou on July 21, 2022
The symposium offered stakeholders the opportunity to take stock of AR4D in the sub-region, and to identify research achievements to capitalize on, to stimulate sustainable growth and development in the sub-region.
The closing ceremony was marked by the formulation and adoption of recommendations by all participating stakeholders.
The recommendations were mainly addressed to governments, National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS), agricultural research and advisory institutions, and regional and international research management institutions.
They include, among others, the promotion of academic training, leading to a degree and capacity building of stakeholders, the facilitation of scaling up of climate-smart technologies and innovations, the establishment and strengthening of laboratories, the involvement of the private sector, particularly in technology transfer and scaling up, the preventive management of pests and diseases, the establishment of a scientist-researcher dialogue, etc.
“These recommendations contribute to increase stakeholders’ commitment, especially policy makers, to better capitalize on the achievements of agricultural research for development in West and Central Africa,” said Dr. Emmanuel Njukwe, CORAF Director of Research and Innovation.
“The expectation is that these recommendations will be effectively implemented and accompanied by a follow-up mechanism, in order to stimulate a real transformation of agriculture in the sub-region,” he added.
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During the gathering, CORAF brought together more than a hundred researchers, academics and other NARS stakeholders around the theme: Agricultural technologies & innovations: Climate-smart solutions for the transformation of emergence and post-emergence situations.
The symposium was organized within the framework of the Agricultural Technologies and Innovations Scaling Up Project for Increasing the Resilience of Production Systems and Family Farms in West and Central Africa (TARSPro).
Funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), TARSPro is an initiative implemented by CORAF in Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Chad.