This presentation is under the aegis of the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF/WECARD). It presents the example of the concrete achievements implemented by two institutions, IRD and CIRAD, which contribute significantly to partnership research programmes in the region and the implementation of CORAF/WECARD long-term strategy. Visit the conference site for more information: http://www.egfar.org/gcard-2012 Cette présentation est sous l'égide du Conseil Ouest et Centre Africain de la Recherche et du Développement agricoles (CORAF/WECARD). Il présente l'exemple des réalisations concrètes de deux institutions, l'IRD et le CIRAD, qui contribuent de manière significative aux partenariats des programmes de recherche agricole dans la région et de la mise en œuvre de la stratégie à long terme du CORAF/WECARD. Visitez le site de la GCARD2 pour plus d'informations: http://www.egfar.org/gcard-2012 Esta presentación es bajo la égida del África Occidental y Central y el Consejo para la investigación y el Desarrollo Agrícola (CORAF/AGRARIO). Presenta el ejemplo de los logros concretos ejecutados por ambas instituciones, el IRD y el CIRAD, que contribuyen de manera significativa a la asociación los programas de investigación en la región y la aplicación de CORAF/AGRARIO estrategia a largo plazo. Visite el sitio de conferencia para obtener más información: http://www.egfar.org/gcard-2012

1. DRAFT
Breakout Session C1.3 North-South and South-South Collaborative Actions – Speaker
Brief
CORAF/CIRAD and IRD collaborative research platforms in West and Central Africa
A. Njoya (CORAF/WECARD)
Context – the problems being addressed
This presentation is under the aegis of the West and Central African Council for Agricultural
Research and Development (CORAF/WECARD). Taking as a example the concrete
achievements implemented by two institutions, IRD and CIRAD, which contribute
significantly to partnership research programmes in the region and the implementation of
CORAF/WECARD long-term strategy. It summarises the specifics of these approaches,
formalized in different forms in the two institutions and highlights:
1. The innovative nature of these approaches;
2. Convergences and complementarities;
3. The "lessons learned" through these experiences;
4. Examples of the associated impacts on the West and Central Africa region.
These partnership instruments correspond to the formation of long-term collective scientific
projects between national and regional institutions in the North and the South, of which the
dimensions, the goals and the organizational methods may vary. They reflect the same desire
to renew the terms of the North-South partnership with the goal towards building strong
multidisciplinary scientific communities, which together can meet the major global challenges
of development.
These partnership instruments have enabled the renewal of the scientific offer to better meet
the needs of the local and regional actors of the companies in the South.
Current activities presented and discussed in the session
A quick overview of the current achievements in the West and Central Africa regions reveals
two examples that serve to illustrate the specificities and benefits of these new partnerships:
the PPZS and the IESOL.
The Dry Zone Pastoral Pole (PPZS) was created in 2001 by ISRA, UCAD, CSE and CIRAD. It
aims to understand and develop pastoral systems and their integration into national
economies. To this end, its research focuses on two aspects: sustainability of socio-economic
systems in dry lands with regards to change (land transfers, mobility of people and herds,
productivity, support tools and modelling) and strengthening the local scientific capacity
through training. A scientific advisory board meets annually to review the results and provide
1

2. research directions.
The International Joint Laboratory "Ecological Intensification of Cultivated Soil in West
Africa" (LMI IESOL), established in 2012, is the result of a long-standing partnership
between ISRA, INERA, the universities of Dakar and of Ouagadougou and IRD. Built around
research questions, this partnership extends to higher education and the development of skills.
Today, the LMI IESOL unites researchers, lecturers, engineers and technicians from partner
organizations around the technological and experimental platforms in Senegal and Burkina
Faso to:
1. Conduct research in soil ecology on the intensification of the production capacity of
soils and the ecosystem services rendered;
2. Contribute to higher education in Ecology for the development of ecological
engineering for land and agro-ecosystem management;
3. Contribute to strengthening technical and scientific skills of the partners by
developing common and shared laboratories platform.
Intended outcomes
The proposed approach has also revealed the following results:
 The formation of innovative research projects;
 Structuring of the scientific communities in the North and South regions;
 Strengthening of the scientific expertise in the South by a strong link with higher education
and training;
 The impacts on agricultural practices in the region;
 The impacts on the populations.
Commitments to collective actions in 2012-2014 (national, regional or international)
i. With existing resources
Involvement in these joint collaborative projects:
Both in the organization of the different collaborative instruments and in the allocation of
resources, all partners are committed to providing long-term human, material and financial
support for the projects, according to the terms defined between them. These commitments
are formalized through conventions.
Moreover, these partnership instruments also serve as leverage and to attract additional
funding from multiple sources: national and international donors, new partners in the North as
well as the South, who are keen to become involved in these projects, private companies, etc.
Both platforms for research and training (PPZS and IESOL), will continue their ongoing
activities promoting scientific knowledge, team work, and training and will engage in new
2

3. research projects which include:
 For the PPZS. Research activities will be pursued on the production of knowledge and
management tools for pastoral ecosystems, as well as the identification of indicators
for monitoring resources. New joint projects will be submitted to international financial
partners, building in particular on the interest expressed by the Australian CSIRO and
opportunities offered by existing calls for proposals launched in the context of
CSIRO/CORAF collaboration. Training modules on pastoralism (supported by FAO)
will be finalized and the implementation of the master UCAD "ecology, agroforestry,
adaptation" will be continued.
 For the LMI IESOL: The expected outcomes for this international joint laboratory
are the development of ecological intensification practices of soils in West Africa and
the publication of technical leaflets and publications dedicated to famers. In term of
co-financing, the LMI partners are committed to support the research team in term of
human resources, equipment and additional financial support. Also the research
projects of the LMI IESOL based on this innovating partnership and a strong North-
South research community aim to raise additional funds from national and
international funders. Another objective is to attract new scientific partners from north
and south countries interested in supporting the area of research.
ii. With additional support
PPZS and IESOL research activities, particularly in training and capacity building would be
reassessed with national partners and CORAF/WECARD to prioritized additional activities
with new levels of availability of human and financial resources.
iii. With specific large scale programme investment
3