Establishment and Strengthening of AFAAS Country Fora

1. Establishment and Strengthening of AFAAS Country Fora SanneChipeta Team Leader

2. AFAAS and the role of Country Fora (CF) • CF • Bring together AAS actors • Lead AAS development at national level – linking AAS stakeholders with CAADP process • Exchange of information • Share lessons • Identify opportunities for providing services to each other • Innovation on AAS • AFAAS secretariat • Facilitate alignment with AFAAS and FAAP • Link CFs regionally and continentally for sharing and learning • Strengthen capacity

3. So far Sensitisation workshops in six countries: Kenya CF not yet established Tanzania CF formed but not yet active Uganda CF not yet established, but TWG can act as entry point Malawi CF established with CN and draft constitution Benin CF not yet established Sierra Leone CF established – partner in PAID

4. What will be the added value? • From NI consultation in 2008: • Enable coordination of national reform activities • Provide a forum for shared learning • Provide a forum for strengthened lobby and advocacy for AAS investments • Connect the stakeholder beyond the national level to other organisations on the continent

5. Assignment for establishment and strengthening of CF • Facilitating the continuation of the process that has started in the countries • Producing guidelines • Coordinating the testing of the guidelines in the six countries • Finalising guidelines to be used in other countries

6. Opportunities • Increased focus on food security • Attention to CC factors affecting producers • Increased attention to AAS - promising prospects for development of new concepts of AAS • On-going institutional reforms in several countries Important assumption AAS actors are motivated for collaboration, cross-learning and linking to capacity building opportunities Note that some of these actors are competing on the AA service market!!

7. Framework for African Agricultural productivity (FAAP) • A framework for change of agricultural institutions and services in Africa • FAAP Principles • Empowerment of end-users • Planned subsidiarity • Pluralism in the delivery of AAS • Evidence based approaches to AAS • Integration of AAS with research, the private sector, training, capacity building and education programmes • Explicit incorporation of sustainability criteria • Systematic utilisation of improved management information systems • Introduction of cost sharing with end-users • Integration of gender considerations at all levels

8. Process for engaging includes the following steps • Assessment of status of organizational and institutional status of AAS stakeholders • Identification of existing entity for country forum or setting up a new entity of this doesn’t exist • Facilitation of the process of establishing a country forum • Facilitation of a CF to develop a strategic plan • Validation of the CF strategic plan with national stakeholders, AFAAS and other CAADP stakeholders • Facilitation of a CF that has a strategic plan to develop an operational plan

9. Approach and methods • Aligning to FAAP principles • Facilitation and capacity building at the centre • Facilitative process strengthening existing interest and initiatives in terms of creating networks and links among AAS partners • Anchoring in the particular countries and institutions • Facilitating the identification of existing structures for networking in the countries • Creating a capacity resource base (team members) for future use by AFAAS and the CFs • Change processes for future development and learning in the networks and among the partners through use of Outcome Mapping

10. Questions • Is the assumption concerning motivation valid? • What are the constraints? • What will hold the CF together – internal values and mutual interest? • What is the added value of strengthening the CFs? • How can CFs become financial sustainable?