14/09 + 15/09 LEAP4FNSSA Final writeshop, General Assembly and IRC Launch – towards an AU-EU International Research Consortium on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture https://paepard.blogspot.com/2022/09/science-and-partnerships-for_15.html

1. International Research Consortium
for Food and Nutrition Security and
Sustainable agriculture:
an EU-AU partnership
Supported under the EU Horizon 2020 Instrument
Prof. Theresa Nkuo-Akenji
Initial comments on the
IRC functions and services
September 14, 2022
Board Chair, RUFORUM & Vice-
Chancellor, The Univrersity of
Bamenda, Cameroon

2. EU-AU Research and Innovation Partnership on
Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA Partnership)
Overall objective of the IRC
Current
Enhanced coordination and
creation of synergy among the
many R&I actors, programmes,
and projects to deliver solutions
that address the FNSSA at scale
in Africa and Europe
Issues
The objective of the IRC is broad
enough and emphasises
coordination. The need for an
operationalisation of
coordination is articulated well
in the subsequent sections of
the presentation

3. EU-AU Research and Innovation Partnership on
Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA Partnership)
Vision of the IRC
Current
Africa and Europe collectively
achieving national, regional and global
targets in food and nutrition systems
through accelerated implementation
of the High-Level Policy Dialogue
FNSSA Roadmap underpinned by
coherent research and innovation
programmes
Issues
- The question here is whether all the
current AU-EU initiatives on FNSSA are
being guided or based on the FNSSA
Roadmap
- Does the current vision of the IRC
imply a willingness on the part of the
EU to have all FNSSA programmes in
Africa harmonized?

4. EU-AU Research and Innovation Partnership on
Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA Partnership)
Mission of the IRC
Current
To support, convene and
coordinate joint African and
European FNSSA Research and
Innovation that supports global
challenges, focused on the
SDGs and how they relate to
specific environments in both
Africa and Europe in line with
the FNSSA Roadmap
Issues
Operational challenges include:
 Aligning diverse missions of
member
organisations/institutions to
that of the IRC
 There is a risk of failure
because of non-or limited
relevance to institutional
missions

5. EU-AU Research and Innovation Partnership on
Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA Partnership)
The Functions of the IRC
 Identification of priorities, initiatives & actors, and alignment of R&I
programmes,
 Showcasing working solutions and facilitate clustering of institutions &
actors for scaling
 Development of a credible data and knowledge management system for
outputs of projects, programmes and policies at national, regional, and
continental level; widely disseminate and strengthen capacity for
utilization by actors in the FNSSA domain
 Development and operationalization of a sustainable & inclusive
structure of R&I governance and funding; strengthen capacity of actors
to access funding
 Link non-policy stakeholders in the FNSSA domain to the HLPD and
other relevant policy institutions and processes in Africa and Europe

6. EU-AU Research and Innovation Partnership on
Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA Partnership)
Issues with the Functions of the
IRC
- For purposes of effective delivery, there is need for alignment of
these functions to those of the participating institutions (the
working group on membership can look into this)
- Risk of establishing a platform that duplicates efforts of non-IRC
member institutions which are serving the same stakeholders
(Competition for resources); this requires a careful analysis to
bring the majority on board
- Need to elaborate on the implication of “scaling” within the
functions of the IRC

7. EU-AU Research and Innovation Partnership on
Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA Partnership)
Value propositions of the IRC
• Data and Knowledge on projects, programmes, policies and
resultant innovations from the AU-EU R&I
• A coordinated platform for dialogue and partnership among
various AU-EU FNSSA domain actors at various geographic scales
• Capacity development for different actors in the FNSSA domain
• Funding mechanisms and access to funding opportunities for R&I
in the FNSSA domain

8. EU-AU Research and Innovation Partnership on
Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA Partnership)
Issues with the value
propositions (benefits) of the IRC
- The challenge of IRC to address the desires and expectations
of each member institution as these are diverse
- For example, as universities, we are interested;
- in access to funding for R&I, training, partnerships and collaboration;
- Contribute our research and innovation expertise to support policy
development
- share technologies and innovations, build capacity (other stakeholders
may have other claims).

9. EU-AU Research and Innovation Partnership on
Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA Partnership)
The services of the IRC and the
delivery mechanisms proposed
1) Identification of priorities for R&I
2) Alignment of the many R&I programmes, initiatives, and actors
3) Showcase solutions that work
4) Regular update on projects, programmes, and national, regional, and
continental policies
5) Successive growing of an AU-EU Knowledge Management and
Communication Framework
6) A sustainable and inclusive structure of governance and funding
7) Support the functioning of the AU-EU HLPD and other FNSSA policy
processes in AU & EU
8) Strengthen capacity of various actors in the FNSSA domain to develop and/or
utilize outputs of AU-EU R&I in the FNSSA domain

10. EU-AU Research and Innovation Partnership on
Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA Partnership)
Issues with the services of the IRC and
the delivery mechanisms proposed
- It is important to target and tailor the services to the needs
of different actors in the FNSSA domain
- There is need to put in place the right structures for delivery
of services considering the diversity of stakeholders
- Much more attention should be given to the training and
engagement of the next generation of scientists (students)
because it is important for sustainability

11. EU-AU Research and Innovation Partnership on
Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA Partnership)
Pertinent issues with the six specific
services
Current
1. Priority identification
2. Alignment of the many R&I
programmes & initiatives
Issues
- Role of national agencies should be
emphasised since universities are
answerable, first to the national
development concerns, including
those in the FNSSA domain
- Universities need support for
training, knowledge and skills
dissemination

12. EU-AU Research and Innovation Partnership on
Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA Partnership)
Pertinent issues with the six specific
services
Current
3. Showcasing solutions that work
4. A sustainable and inclusive
structure of governance and funding
Issues
- Linking university Knowledge
Management Systems and the IRC
KMS will be very important e.g.
RUFORUM Network through its
Secretariat developed an impact
platform to showcase innovations in
videos and popular writing
- Strengthening the capacity of
universities to translate scientific
knowledge into formats accessible to
and understood by farmers, private
sector and policy makers need IRC
support

13. EU-AU Research and Innovation Partnership on
Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA Partnership)
Pertinent issues with the six specific
services
Current
5. Support the functioning of the AU-EU
HLPD and other FNSSA policy processes in
AU & EU
6. Strengthen capacity of various actors in
the FNSSA domain to develop and/or utilize
outputs of AU-EU R&I in the FNSSA domain
Issues
- Capacity building through short
courses, academic programmes,
mentorship in research and
innovation should be an important
consideration in the IRC agenda
- For sustainability, IRC should
emphasize on the training and
mentorship in resource mobilisation
considering that this is an area of
need for African universities,
especially for junior faculty.

14. EU-AU Research and Innovation Partnership on
Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA Partnership)
THANK YOU