World Agroforestry Centre - Annual Report 2003 - Theme: Strengthening Institutions

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Theme: Strengthening Institutions

Introduction
Lead Stories
Other Highlights

Introduction

We are strengthening the capacity of institutions to effectively participate in generating and applying innovations in agroforestry and integrated natural resource management for improved farmer livelihoods.

Our focus for this year is on the extensive, but also very specific impacts of international training networks, the introduction of specialist training courses and an expanded small grants scheme to help agroforestry trainees apply what they have learned, and the huge contribution of student researchers to advancing agroforestry and rural development.

The focal areas in this theme are:

Research systems and institutions. In this focus we are striving to understand the bottlenecks faced by national institutions and work out joint strategies and programmes to address them.
Development systems and institutions. We are working in partnership with organizations engaged in empowering farmers, disseminating agroforestry and land management options, marketing agroforestry products, and setting and implementing policies impacting on rural livelihoods to ensure the multidirectional flow of knowledge and skills emanating from research and from farmers’ experiences.
Educational systems and institutions. In this focus, we are working with policy makers, education managers and educators to incorporate multidisciplinary approaches to land management into curricula.
Inter-institutional collaboration and knowledge management. We aim to develop mechanisms that foster better sharing of knowledge and information, through internal knowledge sharing, and by linking with other CGIAR centres, advanced research institutions, and universities across the research-education-development continuum.

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Lead Stories

College adopts agroforestry
	At a glance
	Proximity to the local farming community didn’t mean that the Wondo Genet College of Forestry in Ethiopia necessarily had much to do with it. Farmers also had little interest in the college. But all that changed when the college joined ANAFE: the African Network for Agroforestry Education, and introduced agroforestry and integrated resource management courses into its curriculum. Needing practical help to develop locally-relevant multidisciplinary training they turned to the expertise of local farmers, who then took a much greater interest in working with the college. ANAFE is helping hundreds of colleges and universities across Africa to develop more practically-oriented, multi-disciplinary training. Now a similar network in South East Asia is doing the same. Download Document (.pdf, 154KB)
Benefiting from the world's best
	At a glance
	The World Agroforestry Centre has always supported student trainees from its partner institutions, and this investment has had a huge impact on building the science of agroforestry and the capacities of its partner institutions. Each year approximately 20-30 trainees are supported to conduct their thesis research at the Centre’s project sites. One such site is the Lake Victoria project where seven trainees are working on problems of land degradation and watershed management. Their research projects have had a unique and valuable impact on the progress of this important project to restore the health of the world’s second largest freshwater lake. Download Document (.pdf, 136KB)
Small grants add value
	At a glance
	Dr Leonilde dos Santos Rosa is the recipient of a small grant provided as part of a training course run by the World Agroforestry Centre. She is using the grant to help implement what she learned by addressing a problem of local environmental degradation though the introduction of improved agroforestry practices. These competitive grants are a new initiative in the second phase of the Centre’s highly successful international program to strengthen agroforestry training. Twenty specialized short courses are being run across the world, backed up by post-course online discussions and competitive grants to help trainees make a practical difference in their communities. Download Document (.pdf, 144KB)

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Other Highlights

	Agricultural college in Kenya generates its own funding – how sweet it is With funding a perennial problem for agricultural education in Africa, the Baraka Agricultural College in Kenya has a solution – incorporating bee-keeping into its highly practical training programme for community development workers from all over East Africa. The honey and tree products generate much-needed income. The African Network of Agroforestry Education, ANAFE, is documenting this earning-while-learning model for application to other educational institutions. Contact: k.mogotsi@cgiar.org \| Download Document (.pdf, 148KB)
	Uganda Agroforestry Development Network (UGADEN) In late 2001, UGADEN was just an idea. In the short time since then this network of institutions, organizations and individuals involved in agroforestry research, training and development, has held eight sensitization meetings, five planning workshops and a fruit tree strategy development workshop. It is expected to assist development workers, local leaders and farmers to position agroforestry as a key component in the modernization of Uganda’s agriculture. Contact: ugaden@utlonline.co.ug
	Strength in numbers – a consortium in western Kenya to increase farm productivity Too many cooks may spoil the broth, but the same is not true of research and development agencies, farmers and entrepreneurs working to increase food production and reduce poverty - if their work is cohesive. For this reason, the Centre is now one of 70 partners in a consortium to scale up options to increase farm productivity in densely populated western Kenya. Contact: q.noordin@cgiar and a.njui@cgiar.org
	Rebuilding after the genocide – the multiplier effect of training programs in Rwanda A drastic consequence of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda was the killing or exile of most of the country’s qualifi ed people. This severely hindered national development for years. But a program to build research capacity through student internships and theses, as well as training extension agents and farmers is now having a positive multiplier effect across the country. Contact: c.zaongo@cgiar.org \| Download Document (.pdf, 171KB)
	In-depth agroforestry information online – a potential boost to East African universities Limited computers and internet access make full online courses impractical for East African universities, but an online agroforestry resource center would be highly prized and provide a major boost to traditional training. Providing better online access to the latest research would make best use of limited university facilities and provide just what students and lecturers alike are seeking. Contact: j.beniest@cgiar.org \| Download Document (.pdf, 157KB)

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