AATF: A Decade of Enduring Partnerships in Technology Access and Delivery
1. AATF: A Decade of Enduring
Partnerships in Technology Access
and Delivery
Presentation at the AATF side event during the 6th Africa
Science Week and FARA General Assembly
15-20 July 2013
Accra Ghana
Dr. Denis Tumwesigye Kyetere
Executive Director AATF
2. Changing the lives of smallholders
Mebo Chebor is the mother of three children, has a clothing
business, and grows maize to support her family’s food
needs. Attacked by striga, Mebo’s maize crop was yielding
just half a bag of maize from her .2 acre plot. Running low
on capital in her clothes business due to having to draw
money to support her food expenditures, Mebo decided to try
the new maize seed variety she’d heard about that could kill
striga.
Planting StrigAway, Mebo’s harvest yielded 1.5 bags from a
.1 acre plot, which normally would obtain only 2 kg
containers. Her land is now nearly free from Striga, while
neighbouring farms are heavily infested.
Mebo has reimbursed her clothing business and plans to buy
at least 2 kg of maize seed in 2012. She also is calling on
her neighbouring farmers to buy StrigAway.
The mother of four children, Catherine Otiende, never
believed that her ¾ acre farm could feed her family and
extended family. For years, it had only yielded less than two
bags of maize, due to a high density of striga.
In 2011, Catherine heard about an improved maize variety
that could kill the striga weed and bought five kilos. She had
dramatic results and her farm is now a learning centre for
other farmers who want to try the new seed.
Catherine expects to harvest eight bags of maize this
season, which will be enough to feed her family and her
extended family. She has also intercropped
groundnut, which is supplying her with extra income, and has
planted several banana stools. Already demonstrating to
others, Catherine is eager to see the technology used by all
farmers in the region.
Mebo Chebor,
Nyanza region, Kenya
Catherine Otiende,
Kisumu District, Kenya
3. African Agriculture Improving
• Annual growth strong in a number of countries (IFPRI 2012)
– 12-15% in Angola and Liberia
– 7% in Botswana, Ethiopia & Malawi
– 5% in Rwanda
– 4% in Ghana & Tanzania
• Fuelled largely by
– increased investment in agriculture; Increased fertiliser
use; Adoption of high yielding varieties
• Poverty rates down but hunger & malnutrition still high
4. Need for advanced agricultural
technologies
• African governments and institutions have
recognised Africa’s need to access new and
better agricultural technologies
(PRSP’s, NEPAD)
• Agricultural science & technology can improve
food security and reduce poverty in SSA
• Some of these technologies are proprietary
• Challenge – Cost & IP management
5. Meeting a critical need
– Effective mechanisms to negotiate the
access and transfer - on humanitarian
grounds (taking on business models)
– Partnerships to manage the development &
deployment of these technologies
– Thus AATF’s creation
6. To access, develop, adapt, and deliver appropriate agricultural
technologies for sustainable use by smallholder farmers in SSA
thru’ innovative partnerships and effective stewardship along
the entire value chain.
African Agricultural Technology
Foundation (AATF)
Mission
Why we Exist
A Prosperous and a food secure Africa
Vision
What We Want to Achieve
7. Advancing practical solutions
African-based and –led, AATF has three unique skill
sets:
1. Accessing and delivering proprietary technology -
utilising expertise in IP and regulatory affairs to
enable technology to reach farmers
2. Promoting information sharing and awareness –
accelerating the rate at which solutions can reach
farmers and agri-businesses
3. Managing complex partnerships – bringing the best
of public & private sectors together for farmers
8. Molecule to molecule
• A constraint
• How to solve
Identify
• Technology,
royalty free
Broker
• Testing by
African
researchers
and farmers
• Regulatory
controls
Adapt
• Agri-
businesses
• Smallholders
Deliver
• Best practices
• Sustainable
use
Steward
10. Who we are
• Founded in 2003 as not-for-profit by RF, DFID,USAID
• Major investors -RF, DFID, USAID, HGBF, BMGF
• Annual budget $20 million
• Core staff of 30 - SSA operations
• Incorporated in UK January and in Kenya
– Registered as charity under the laws of England & Wales
• Granted tax-exempt status in the US in May 2006
12. Working Across Value Chain
Seeks innovative ways of creating synergies between players in the
value chain
Project-specific roles include
• Technology negotiation, incensing & regulatory approval
• Freedom to operate (FTO) assessments
• Licensing for regional distribution
• Liability protection
• Product Development and testing
• Commercialisation
• Stewardship
• Partnerships Management
• Communication and public awareness
13. AATF Approach to Technology Transfer
Focus
• Food & high value crops produced by smallholder farmers in SSA
Technological interventions criteria
• SSA priority agricultural constraints
• Technologies that are accessible, transferable, adaptable &
proven
• Achievable within reasonable time
• Reasonable geographic balance
Partnership & Stewardship
• AATF acts as the ‘responsible party’ ensuring technologies are
appropriately and responsibly developed and used across the
value chain
14. Priority Areas for AATF
• Impact of climate change on
agriculture
• Pest Management
• Soil Management
• Nutrient enhancement in foods
• Improved breeding Methods
• Mechanization
Enabling activities
•IP
Management, Licensing
and Technology
Stewardship
•Regulatory Science and
Management
•Communication and
Issue Management
•Market linkages
•R&D Management and
15. 1. Effective mechanism to negotiate the access
and transfer of proprietary technologies
Technologies valued at approximately $110 million
• 17 technologies & 2 protocols
• 6 technologies developed
• 3 technologies initiating uptake & up-scaling
o 1 is being grown by farmers
o 2 at advanced testing stages
2. Appropriate partnerships to manage the
development & deployment of technologies
• 10 PPP projects across 60 plus organisations in 10 countries
Is the AATF ‘Idea’ working?
17. Boundary Principle
• AATF Partnerships
– Must fit Foundation vision and mission;
– Focus on problem areas and/or projects;
– Build on Foundation strategy
– Add value
– Centre on SSA farmer interests
18. Types of AATF Partnerships
• Strategic
Partnerships
e.g – HCA, AU, FARA
• Operational
Partnerships
e.g – Academia
Sinica/banana; AFTSA
19. Types of Engagements
1. Alliances - MoU and/or collaborative
agreements based
2. Formal - Contractual based
3. Informal (temporary) affiliations
21. Developing high quality insect-resistant cowpea
varieties for use by smallholder farmers - CFTs show
little to no damage
Maruca-Resistant Cowpea
22. Maruca-Resistant Cowpea Partners
• AATF
• Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
• Council of Scientific and Industrial Research- Savannah Agriculture
Research Institute (CSIR-SARI) Ghana
• Institute of Agricultural Research (IAR), Nigeria
• National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), Nigeria
• Institut de l’Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles (INERA), Burkina
Faso
• Monsanto
• Network for the Genetic Improvement of Cowpea for Africa (NGICA)
• United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
• Program for Biosafety Systems (PBS), USA
• Kirk House Trust
23. Improving Banana for
Resistance against BXW disease
Developing BXW resistant transgenic banana from East African germplasm,
using two genes found in sweet pepper - pflp and hrap
24. BXW Partners
• Academia Sinica, Taiwan
• The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
• The National Agricultural Research Organisation, Uganda
• Public and private tissue culture laboratories in the Great Lakes
region of Africa including Burundi, Democratic Republic of
Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda
• AATF
26. Hybrid Rice
• Increase rice production among small scale
rice producers in Africa through breeding
• Develop and expand 2-line hybrid rice
technology
27. Rice Productivity Partners
• Arcadia
• Public Intellectual Property Resource for Agriculture (PIPRA)
• International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)
• National Agricultural Research Organisation, Uganda
• Crop Research Institute, Ghana
• AATF
• Hybrids East Africa Limited (HEAL)
• aWhere, Inc. of the USA
• National Agricultural Research Systems of Kenya, Ethiopia,
Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria and Ghana
28. Aflatoxins control in maize & Peanuts
Using bio-control product, Aflasafe, with holistic strategies to
address aflatoxin problems in maize and peanuts
29. Aflatoxin Control Partners
• United States Department of Agriculture
• The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
• Department of Plant Protection Senegal
• Kenya Agricultural Research Institute
• ACDI/VOCA in Kenya
• AATF
30. Water Efficient Maize for Africa
Developing white hybrid maize varieties adapted to moderate drought
conditions in SSA and insect resistant to increase yields 20-
35%, through conventional, marker assisted breeding and transgenic
technology
31. Monsanto
• World leader in
MAB, gene
discovery, trait
development and
trait licensing
CIMMYT
• World leader
for breeding
maize for African
agro-ecological
zones
AATF
• Unique African
institution
mandated to access
and deliver
proprietary
technologies to
smallholders
African farmers
NARS
• Expertise in
Field trials
• Test DT maize
• Capacity
building
opportunities
WEMA
WEMA Partnership
32. Striga Control in Maize Fields
Applying Striga-killing herbicide, Imazapyr, to maize seeds that are
bred to be herbicide resistant, increasing yields 300% on average
33. Striga Control Partners
(IR-Maize Seed)
• AATF
• BASF
• CIMMYT
• Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
• Extension services – government and
non-governmental
• Seed companies – Ke, Ug, Tz
• Western Seed Company
• Kenya Seed Company
• Freshco Seeds Ltd in Kenya
• Nalweyo Seed Company
• Tanseed International Ltd
34. Cassava Mechanisation & Agro-
processing (CAMAP)
Brokering access to mechanisation and agro-processing equipment
for development and use in Africa, accelerating planting, harvesting
and processing
35. CAMAP Current Partners
• Zambia
– Agricultural Research Institute
– Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Zambia
• Nigeria
– National Root Crops Research Institute, Nigeria
– National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation,
Nigeria
– Kwara State, Nigeria
– Osun State, Nigeria
36. Seeds2B
Making seeds available at the right time, place,
price and quality
Problem
• Availability of quality seed varieties is constraint
• Reliable access to, and supply of improved seed
needed by farmers in SSA
Intervention
• business model to link available seeds from national
and international technology owners (public and
private) with seed companies in Africa
37. Open Forum on Agricultural
Biotechnology in Africa (OFAB)
• Established by AATF in 2006 for frank discussions
on the benefits and challenges of biotechnology
• To enhance knowledge-sharing and awareness
on biotechnology
• Increased appreciation of agricultural
biotechnology
• Contribute to building an enabling environment
for decision making
• Countries: GH, UG, NG, BF, KE, TZ
39. Managing Partnerships
Partnerships can be complicated in nature –
Critical to identify and nurture common ground.
Therefore – Coordinator should:
– Drive the process of partnership formation
– Base partnership decision making on
agreements
– Encourage strategic management of
partnerships
– Be responsive to change - exercise
flexibility
– Anticipate and resolve differences
40. PPP Governance Structure
• Executive Advisory Board with officials of each
country and other partners
• Operations Committee
– supporting Project Manager
• Functional Task Committees
– Technical, Regulatory, Communications
• In-country teams to implement the project and
raise awareness
– Stakeholder meetings
41. Establishing Partnerships
Success depends on relationship envisaged
1. Clarity on partners’ capabilities, attitudes and
interests to establish partnerships that deliver
2. Complementarity of skills & shared understanding
3. Clarity of purpose - goals, roles, responsibilities
4. Relevance of partner motivation to the goals
5. Agreement on governance structure, lifespan and
dispute resolution, communication & IP
6. Resources available
7. Sensitivity to institutional, political & cultural
differences
42. General Challenges with PPP’s
• Trust Building – Skepticism PPP’s
• Work cultures – public sector vs private sector
• Policy environment - Young emerging
regulatory frameworks
• Seed systems & related stewardship –
commercialisation challenges
• Considerable time - commitment needed
• The ‘virtual nature’ could affect involvement of
partners and timely execution of plans &
activities
43. Belief in smallholder farmers in
Africa
• Deserve the best agricultural technology available to
mitigate lowest farm productivity
• Science and technology can and must play a vital role
– make a difference in SSA
• Success depends on all working together - effective
partnerships
• People in Africa can and must take the lead in
providing the answers to Africa’s challenges.
44. Conclusion
• Billions of dollars are lost due to constraints
whose solutions exist
• Small-holder farming can contribute to Poverty
Eradication and Food Security
– Access to appropriate agri technologies is
paramount
– Effective Public-Private-Partnerships
• Agriculture is a business and part of economy
Land owned -1 hectareMain crops- Staples No irrigation facilitiesYield Maize 200kg/haSeeds used-recycled Fertilizer used: 0.1 of recommended levelsAgricultural Implements owned-hand hoe
Steps in the value chainTechnology identification and accessResearch & DevelopmentProof of conceptField testingInput productionInput deliveryUse of inputsSurplus marketingAATF RolesIP managementRegulatory complianceR&D managementMonitoring and facilitationCommunicationStewardshipImpact assessmentPartnership Management
The breadth of our network to dateTake a team-work based approachIn working with us, you are working with all of these partners. It’s a powerful body of connections and we are skilled and bringing everyone together.