The role of Agricultural Research for Development (AR4D) institutions in knowledge generation towards Africa’s agenda in halving poverty by 2025 through the CAADP Malabo commitment and contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals cannot be overemphasized. The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and further partners under the “CAADP-XP4” initiative jointly designed and rolled out the annual Knowledge Management for Agricultural Development (KM4AgD) agenda (Challenge & Conference) in 2021 to build appropriate capacities, establish communities of practice for knowledge management and strengthen the knowledge ecosystem to accelerate the achievement of the CAADP Malabo goals and the SDGs. The Challenge is implemented through an integrated, strategic, educational, and transformational approach. It is the lighthouse project for knowledge-based development in AR4D in Africa. Since 2021, the consortium has jointly supported and certified 55 Fellows from national agricultural research and extension systems. It has mainstreamed over 20 countries and 30 organizational knowledge management policies and strategies to strengthen the knowledge ecosystem of AR4D.
The speakers, Benjamin Abugri and Dorcas Sanginga Alame, shared lessons from the implementation of this initiative over the past four years.
Benjamin Abugri is Lead Specialist for Knowledge Management, Digitalization and Learning Cluster at FARA. He has vast experience in knowledge management, outreach, coordination, project management, community engagement, development Communication and public policy. Before joining FARA in February 2017, he worked as Knowledge Management Specialist for the University Research Company (URC) USAID-funded Systems for Health Project; as Knowledge Management Program Manager for the John Snow (JSI) Health Research & Training Institute USAID-funded SPRING Project; and as Knowledge Management, New Initiatives and Child Sponsorship Coordinator for World Vision International.
Dorcas Alame is a PhD Candidate at the Institute for Crop Science and Resource Conservation (INRES), University Bonn within the INTERFACES project (Supporting Pathways to Sustainable Land Management in Africa). She has a high interest in the development and understanding of sustainable, resilient and profitable cropping systems and how decision analysis approaches can support decision making in such systems. Her PhD research is on decision analysis and impact forecasting of several agricultural research and development interventions undertaken in some African countries within the framework of the INTERFACES project. She participates in the 2024 edition of the KM4AgD Challenge and will share some of her experiences with the process.
