Agricultural innovation - Is it only about technology? Or can broadening participation be innovative in itself? Key takeaways from FAO’s International Symposium on Agricultural Innovation for Family Farmers resonate strongly with the Partners in GFAR: Innovation must be done by and with farmers and youth. The International Symposium on Agricultural Innovation for Family Farmers, held… Continue reading We’re all in this together: Putting farmers and youth at the center of #AgInnovation
Dr. Mark Holderness’ term as Executive Secretary ended on December 31st, in line with the GFAR Charter. As GFAR Secretariat seeks to fill this role, we reflect on the contributions of Dr. Holderness to GFAR during his eleven years of service, in expanding and transforming our collective movement, shaping a new future for agriculture and… Continue reading Achieving greater impact together
2018 was a great year for Food Tank. We hosted ground-breaking Summits, innovative events, and global discussions about the food system in Senegal, Italy, Russia, and across the United States. We published the book Nourished Planet, and met many of our members and readers in person! And we started the Food Talk podcast. We’re excited about… Continue reading 119 Organizations Shaking Up the Food System in 2019
Santayana’s famous line “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it”, makes more sense each year as we see programs and investments repeat common errors of past decades. With the support of a thoughtful client that operates food processing plants around the globe (McCain Foods) we began a brief distillation of the… Continue reading Don’t repeat history with the same development mistakes
GFAR and Impakter have recently launched an exciting new online media campaign: #GFARImpakters. Impakter, a cutting-edge online magazine dedicated to topics of sustainability, is now working with GFAR Secretariat to showcase the valuable work done by Partners in GFAR to transform agricultural research and innovation systems. Impakter wants Partners in GFAR to share, and the public at… Continue reading #GFARImpakters Series: Sharing the Impact of the Partners in GFAR
October 16 is World Food Day. It can be a day of action, dedicated to tackling hunger and ensuring food security and nutrient-dense diets for everyone. Food should nourish and nurture people, society, and the planet, but in so many ways, the food system is broken. “Not only have habits changed, but also foods. When was… Continue reading On World Food Day, Take a Holistic Approach to Food Production
The GFAR Steering Committee drives the Forum and includes both grassroots and international organizations, elected to represent Partners in GFAR from all relevant sectors in agri-food research and innovation. GFAR catalyzes Collective Actions that bring together diverse actors through equitable and integrated processes, to make agricultural research and innovation more effective and equitable towards Sustainable Development… Continue reading Reflections on the GFAR Steering Committee meeting
What is urgent when the path forward is unclear amidst complex challenges? The paper argues for providing legitimacy to processes where people co-design how they will intervene to adapt for the future, starting now. This implies to support design approaches that engage people who are affected by change, going beyond mere consultation or feedback to… Continue reading The Urgency is in the Mirror
The challenge of meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) demands collective action among the many stakeholders concerned with agriculture and food research and innovation — whether as farmers or consumers or among those working for international and national research and extension systems, NGOs, higher education, Private Sector, youth organizations and other sectors. Such diverse partners… Continue reading GFAR kicks off reform of the Regional Research Forum, AARINENA
At the recent Africa Agriculture Extension week in Durban, there was a common refrain: "Demand for food in Africa is growing and expected to double by 2050." This is why we see continued growth and employment opportunities in the agricultural value chain and why agriculture extension—or training-- is more important than ever. So what exactly… Continue reading To transform agricultural extension, give youth a voice
A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way. --John C. Maxwell, leadership expert Strong political leadership, some suggest, is necessary for economic and sustainable development. In developed and developing countries we’ve seen a direct correlation between a growing or thriving economy and sound political leadership. Parliamentarians are tasked… Continue reading Your only job is to lead
“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” ― Jackie Robinson Measuring "performance" in the private sector seems easy: reduce cost and increase profit. We face more challenges in the development sector, or in the wider non-profit world. How do we measure the performance of a development organisation/project? Most… Continue reading “Brace for Impact!” – Join our COSA/GFAR/GLF webinar.
“All this is a long-term process, but we keep having the commitment and look forward that the guidelines will definitely help to improve the land access of indigenous people”. It is in these terms that Mrs. Marcela Villarreal, Director of Partnerships, Advocacy and Capacity Development – (FAO) concluded her intervention at the CFS44 side event… Continue reading The tradeoffs of indigenous and community land right promotion
Let me start by wishing all of you a very happy ‘International Youth Day’. On 17 December 1999, the United Nations General Assembly endorsed the recommendation made by the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth (Lisbon, 8-12 August 1998) to declare August 12 as the International Youth Day (to know more about the history… Continue reading 2030 Agenda: The role of youth in peace, security and sustainability?
At their meeting in June 2017, the GFAR Steering Committee appointed Ms. Bongiwe N. Njobe from South Africa as Chair of GFAR. She is joined by Mr. Raffaele Maria Maiorano from Italy as Vice-Chair. At the start of their term, we took the opportunity to ask the new Chair and Vice-Chair their thoughts about GFAR’s work and… Continue reading A Conversation with the Chair and Vice-Chair
What better way to show the commitment of a group of individuals to a cause than to tell their story with their own pictures and words? Let’s start at the beginning… “On a sunny Tuesday morning in June, we (members of the GFAR Steering Committee) gathered on an agricultural cooperative on the outskirts of Rome.… Continue reading Designing the Future of GFAR: Common Values and Commitment Required
Have you ever wondered how you could reach a wider audience with news of how your organization is a part of the GFAR mission to transform agri-food research and innovation? Have you wished you could highlight your work with partners as a concentrated online burst, not just the occasional cross post on a website or blog?… Continue reading A week in the life – share and celebrate your work as a Partner in GFAR
After 3 days of lengthy meetings and positive interactions, I honestly do think a change is coming. At the very least I can see it. Last month, a suprise came in our email. Tech4Agri was elected as the local Youth Representative for the GFAR Steering Committee. We had just signed up to become members of… Continue reading Change is coming
From “difficult” to “promising”. From “getting there” to “much further forward”. From “encouraging” to “rejuvenating with an exclamation mark!”! When the members of the renewed GFAR Steering Committee were asked to describe their experience on day 1 and then again on day 2 of the recent GFAR Steering Committee meeting, these are some of the… Continue reading The Voices of GFAR: Messages from the new Steering Committee
Behind the scenes over the last year, there’s been a big change taking shape in GFAR. With the Partners in GFAR themselves in the lead, the foundation for a renewed GFAR has been laid—a new governance structure that ensures the voices of local stakeholders, from across all sectors, are included in the dialogue on transforming… Continue reading The results are in! Announcing GFAR’s New Steering Committee
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