About Prolinnova

PROmoting Local INNOVAtion in ecologically oriented agriculture and NRM  

VISION:    A world where women and men farmers play decisive roles in agricultural research and development for sustainable livelihoods

New date 12-16 May 2015: West African Workshop on Farmer-Led Research & West Africa Farmer Innovation Fair

A West African workshop on approaches to farmer-led research and a West Africa Farmer Innovation Fair (FIPAO in French: Foire de l’Innovation Paysanne en l’Afrique de l’Ouest) will be held on 12–16 May 2015 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Continuing in the spirit of the International Year of Family Farming (2014), the workshop and fair in 2015 will put the spotlight on farmers’ creativity and their roles in participatory research. It aims to intensify linkages and learning among all actors involved in agricultural research and development related to smallholder family farming. The FIPAO follows the example of the Eastern Africa Farmer Innovation Fair held in Nairobi, Kenya, in May 2013 and will provide a showcase for about 50 West African farmer innovators to exhibit their achievements.

International Partners Workshop (IPW) in Ethiopia in April 2015!

Prolinnova-Ethiopia, coordinated by PANE (Poverty Action Network Ethiopia), will host the International Partners Workshop (IPW) on 27-30 April 2015. This in a return visit to Ethiopia, where the first IPW took place in March 2004.

Prolinnova-CGIAR study on farmer-led research supported by CSOs

The first output of the collaboration between Prolinnova and the CGIAR Research Programs on Aquatic Agricultural Systems (AAS) and Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) has been published:

Wettasinha C, Waters-Bayer A, van Veldhuizen L, Quiroga G and Swaans K. 2014. Study on impacts of farmer-led research supported by civil society organizations. Penang, Malaysia: CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems. Working Paper: AAS-2014-40 (http://aas.cgiar.org/publications/study-impacts-farmer-led-research-supported-civil-society-organizations#.VK3bFidGNN0)

Prolinnova joins AAS dialogue on scaling partnerships

In early December 2014, the CGIAR research program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems (AAS) convened researchers and development partners for a 3-day dialogue in Rome to explore how the impact of AAS research could be scaled out horizontally and scaled up through institutions and policies. Prolinnova experiences were well mirrored through participation in the dialogue by the former co-chair of the Prolinnova Oversight Group, Susan Kaaria, and by a member of the Prolinnova International Support Team, Ann Waters-Bayer.  

Prolinnova congratulates Fetien Abay, winner of AU Science & Technology Award

A long-time member of the Prolinnova network, Fetien Abay, won the African Union Kwame Nkrumah Scientific Award 2014 for the Eastern African Region in the Earth and Life Sciences category. The award ceremony was on 19 December 2014 at the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Fetien was given recognition for her outstanding achievements in science and technology. She is the Director of the Institute of Environment, Gender and Development Studies at Mekelle University in northern Ethiopia and is the scientific coordinator of various community-based projects.

International Farmer Innovation Day celebrated 29 Nov 2014 !

The annual International Farmer Innovation Day (IFID), initiated by the Prolinnova international network, offers a time to celebrate and stimulate the creativity of innovative farmers and to provide sources of inspiration to farmers and other stakeholders in agricultural research and development (ARD. Furthermore, it provides a stage to demonstrate how research and extension agents (private and governmental) can interact and support this process through Participatory Innovation Development (PID). Since 2012,Prolinnova Country Platforms (CPs) organise different types of activities as appropriate in their countries. This year, CPs in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, India, Kenya, Mali, Nepal and Philippines plus the Prolinnova International Secretariat in the Netherlands are organising the following activities to celebrate farmers’ innovativeness on 29 November 2014!

First (virtual) meeting of new Prolinnova Oversight Group

The Prolinnova Oversight Group (POG), the governance mechanism of the Prolinnova network, has a new composition after recent elections and held its first (virtual) meeting on 25 November 2014. The POG consists of 9 persons: 4 elected by the Country Platforms (CPs) and 1 by the International Support Team (IST) plus 4 independent persons, nominated and elected by the CPs and IST.

JOLISAA & Prolinnova lessons presented to EC & other CGIAR donors

At a day-long workshop in Brussels on 7 Nov 2014, the European Commission Directorate General Development and Cooperation (DEVCO) presented its new approach to research and innovation for sustainable agriculture and food and nutrition security (www.egfar.org/sites/default/files/files/DEVCO%20Research_Innovation.pdf). Among several speakers, Ann Waters-Bayer from the Prolinnova International Secretariat at ETC Foundation presented the lessons learnt in the EU-funded project Joint Learning in Innovation Systems in African Agriculture (www.jolisaa.net) and the continuing work of Prolinnova (www.prolinnova.net) along the same lines.

Recognising farmer innovation: the Phiri Award in Zimbabwe

In October 2014, the first Phiri Awards for Farm and Food Innovators were made to farmers in Zimbabwe. The award is named for Zephaniah Phiri, a renowned water-harvester and ecological farmer in Zvishavane District. In the words of Ian Scoones, who worked with him for several years, his innovations in wetland farming over 50 years earned him first arrest and then national and international recognition. The Phiri Award opens up a new chapter in advancing endogenous innovation in Zimbabwe.

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