CIRAD

CIRAD  is a French scientific organisation specialised in development-oriented research with main offices in Montpellier, France. CIRAD has a staff of 1800 people and operates in more than 50 countries, working with a wide range of partners (public authorities, research organisations, universities, private firms, producer organisations, NGOs etc). It is a founding member of European foras such as EIARD, EFARD and ECART, and is a supporting member of African foras such as FARA and PAEPARD, among others.

• More general info on CIRAD's web site:  http://www.cirad.fr/en

• Specific info about UMR Innovation

WUR-LEI

The Agricultural Economics Research Centre (LEI)  and the Technology and Agrarian Development (TAD) chairgroup of Wageningen University are part of the social sciences group of Wageningen University and Research Centre.

• More information on WUR as a whole
• Specific information on LEI
• Specific information on TAD

ETC

ETC Foundation  is a not-for-profit research and advisory organisation of around 50 experts specialised in development programmes and is registered in the Netherlands. ETC's main areas of expertise are rural development, sustainable agriculture and NRM, urban agriculture, indigenous knowledge systems, renewable energy systems and public health programmes. ETC was founded in 1974 and has developed innovative networks among governmental and non-governmental organisations all over the world. Sustainable development initiatives at the local level are encouraged and supported by the optimal use of available knowledge, skills, resources and institutional capacity. Within ETC, the AgriCulture unit is involved in the JOLISAA project. In doing so, it interacts intensively with the members of the Prolinnova (PROmoting Local INNOVAtion) networks in South Africa and Kenya.

• More information on ETC Foundation
• More information on the AgriCulture Unit
• More information on the Prolinnova network

ICRA

ICRA  (International Centre for development oriented Research in Agriculture) is a European institution, with main offices in Wageningen (Netherlands) and Montpellier (France) and satellite offices and regional representation in the South (e.g. in Southern Africa).

ICRA is a capacity-strengthening organisation. It has long-standing experience in implementing ARD (Agricultural Research for Development) learning programmes, through training programmes in Wageningen and Montpellier with fieldwork in developing countries, combined with tailor-made in-country “learning cycles” to support multistakeholder innovation processes facilitated by inter-institutional teams. ICRA has stimulated the development of national-level ARD partnerships, involving the participation of research, education, policymakers, producer organisations and NGOs. ICRA’s partnership strategy is put into practice in each country/region through a combination of externally-funded projects and service contracts, contributions of the partners to local operational budgets, and ICRA core funding. It also involves mentoring of learning cycles at local and sub-national level.

• More info about ICRA

UP

The University of Pretoria  is the largest residential university in South Africa with about 40 000 students, including 10000 postgraduate students and 2 200 international students from 60 countries. Approximately 40% of the post graduate students currently enrolled at UP are from countries in Africa.

The Department of Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development  is internationally recognized for quality teaching and research in the fields of agricultural economics, extension and rural development. It has a long-standing experience in participatory action research for agricultural development in partnerships with government, NGOs, parastatal and private organisations (e.g. Water Research Commission, National Wool Growers Association, South African Sugar Association). It is engaged in building capacity of agricultural extension workers, farmers and rural communities. Through the CE@UP division at the university, accredited capacity building programs are presented to extension workers and farmers.

• More info about UP
• More info about the Department of Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development

KARI

KARI  is a member of the Kenya National Agricultural Research System, which is mandated to conduct crop, livestock, NRM and social and economic research in Kenya. The institute is publicly funded and collaborates with various international, regional and national research and educational organisations. While much of the work is conducted in the 32 research organisations, a lot of on-farm research is also conducted with a view to adapting the generated technologies to the various environmental contexts. The institute works closely with the Ministry of Agriculture Extension branch, as well as various other development agencies, with a view to ensuring that the research results and products are scaled up among the users in diverse areas of the country.

• More information about KARI

UAC-FSA

The Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques du Bénin (FSA) is part of the University of Abomey-Calavi (UAC),  a higher education centre responsible for agricultural engineering education in Benin since 1974.

FSA comprises 70 staff members assigned to five departments. Its main areas of training are crop and animal production, agricultural product processing, NRM and rural socio-economic development.

• More information about UAC
• More information about FSA