2ND NETWORKING SYMPOSIUM FOR SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA NETWORK ON AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY SERVICES
Delivery of agricultural advisory services has of recent come under immense pressures to more effectively respond to the challenges of modernising agricultural programmes in Uganda and other parts of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The sector faces numerous challenges in the region.
In response to these challenges, countries in the SSA region have, undertaken innovative reforms and strategies in the last three decades. These experiences and strategies will be shared at a three-day international Networking Symposium under the theme “Enhancing innovations in agricultural advisory service provision with special emphasis on farmer empowerment and market orientation”. The symposium is scheduled to take place on 24th –27th September 2004 at Hotel Africana, Kampala.
Organised by the Sub-Saharan Africa Network on Agricultural Advisory Services (SSANAAS) in collaboration with the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) Secretariat and other partners, the symposium is expected to bring together 140 participants from 19 African countries of Burundi, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia.
Symposium objectives
The symposium will seek to:
- · Identify and promote best-bet options to enhance scaling-up and out of agricultural innovations and technology diffusion in the SSA region;
- Explore strategies to improve the quality of Agricultural Advisory Serviced provision in SSA with special emphasis on farmer empowerment and market orientation;
- Identify priority capacity development needs for improved technology transfer within sub-Saharan Africa;
- Improve research-extension-farmer linkages in SSA;
- Identify modalities to improve contribution of SSANAAS to wider development goals and targets such as the Millennium Development Goals and the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme;
- Enhance buy-in and participation of SSA countries in SSANAAS.
SSANAAS is a not-for-profit regional organisation comprising institutions and individuals of the National Agricultural Extension Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa with current membership of seven countries: Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. It aims at ‘enhancement of rural livelihoods through improved provision of agricultural advisory services’.
