Presentation to ACIAR staff on consultation activities and strategy of the Australian International Food Security Centre. Mellissa Wood and Wendy Henderson, 16 August 2012.

1. Partnerships for food security

3. FARA, Accra Ghana

5. AIFSC priorities
 East and south African countries
 Identified as a country/sub-regional need
 Identified as a gap in existing agricultural research for
development
 Opportunities for bridging the gap between research and
development
 Opportunities for leveraging off existing work
 Opportunities for co-investment, in particular with private
sector partners
 Encourage south-south institution support
 Recognising the impact of gender on food security
 Opportunities for where Australian comparative
advantage can have impact and alignment with national
interests

6. Smallholder
farmers
 Seven out of ten Africans gain
their livelihoods through farming
 Likely to be a woman
 1 hectare or less
 Yield is one quarter the global
average
 Basic equipment – hoe and
saved seed
 Lacking information and decision
making
 => Struggling to feed a continent
of nearly one billion people

7. Africa is more vulnerable to changing
world food prices
Source: FAO 2011 The State of Food Insecurity in the World
2011. Rome

10. Impact Sufficient, accessible and nutritious food
Increased food Increased income Improved nutrition Improved access Increased
Outcomes
production and diversity in to knowledge institutional and
diets individual capacity
Greater Better Better Increased Innovations in Critical mass
Outputs of
access to market informed and access to more information trained to address
interventions
agricultural access and supported nutritious and and knowledge food security
for smallholder female
innovations returns, and policy safe food and delivery and issues, enduring
and male farmers and
stronger development less post facilitated institutional
other poor households
value chains harvest waste partnerships partnerships
Focus of interventions Accelerating research delivery and adoption of innovations for food security
Sustainable Markets, value Food nutrition Communica- Education,
and productive chains and and safety tions and training and
Program themes
farming social systems knowledge capacity
systems management building
(research) (capacity building)
D Broad platform “Food security” = availability, access and utilisation
Policy frameworks MDGs, in-country priorities, Australian Aid Frameworks

11. Current activities Landcare for
Food Security
Review of ACIAR’s Evergreen Adoption Small-scale
projects in Africa – Agriculture Pathways mechanisation
impacts and $5.5million $3 million $4 million Vegetable-
adoption (+ $1.8 million) (+ $2.3 million) based
(+ $2 million)
4 years 4 years 4 years farming
Understanding Ethiopia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Kenya,
Uganda, Ethiopia,
farming Rwanda, Burundi Tanzania, Malawi, Tanzania, Malawi,
Mozambique Mozambique,
systems Zimbabwe
Foresight for food Family
security poultry and
Blue water use crops
Primary impact Sustainable and Markets, Food
Secondary impact productive value chains nutrition
farming systems & social and safety
scope
systems
project

12. FARA priority themes AIFSC priority? Area of fit
Crop diversification ✓ P3, Vegetable scoping study
Integrated crop livestock systems ✓ P1, P3, Evergreen Ag, Poultry crop
interactions, Water
Research uptake and scaling out ✓ MISSION, Pathways project, Impact and
adoption study
Knowledge mgt ✓ P4, HarvestChoice
Value chain analysis ✓ P2
Foresight use ✓ HarvestChoice, Farming Systems
Socio economic impacts ✓ P2, Pathways project, Small scale
mechanisation project
Food safety, quality & nutrition ✓ P3
Ag financing ✗
Biotech. stewardship ✗
Capacity strengthening ✓ P5, Landcare scoping study

25. Success of Newcastle Disease vaccine
• Assoc. Prof. Robyn Alders involved for over 20 yrs
• Thermo-tolerant vaccine produced (ACIAR $) and
distributed over several African countries (AusAID $)
• Sustainable system for vaccine production and
coordinated distribution – vaccination and evaluation
every 4 months
• 70-80% protection of flock against disease

39. AIFSC poultry–crop project
• Assessing poultry and crop value chains:
o strategic linkages to improve efficiency of both
chains?
o ↑ poultry production/trade through supplementary
feeding from crops?
o ↑’d efficiency of poultry production contribute to
ecologically sustainable ag and food security?
o ↑ human nutrition
o specialists in human health & nutrition, animal
health, value chains, gender/social issues

50. Kenya
Uganda
Tanzania
Rwanda
Burundi

53. AusAID, Nairobi
Food Security Team

54. ILRI, Nairobi
Seminar

56. African
Enterprise
Challenge
Fund –
KPMG &
B&MGF

57. African
Union,
Addis
Ababa

58. Thank you

59. Thank you