Accra, 31 May 2021
The Steering Group (SG) of the African Seed and Biotechnology Partnership Platform (ASB PP) has endorsed the proposal to designate the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) as the host of the Secretariat for the ASB PP. The endorsement came on the back of a keenly competitive but transparent process. Announced during the second meeting of the SG, which took place on 29 May 2021, the endorsement will be ratified by the relevant Policy Organs of the African Union (AU).
The ASB PP is a mechanism for improving coordination in decision making and policy formulation, supporting evidence-based advocacy, and enhancing knowledge sharing in seed systems development in Africa. It also provides technical, administrative, and logistical support to the governance structure of the African Seed and Biotechnology Programme (ASBP), an AU strategic framework for developing Africa’s seed sector. The ASBP was a decision of the Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly in Sirte, Libya, on 5 July 2005 and endorsed by the AU Assembly of 2007 (Assembly/AU/Dec. 135(VIII)).
FARA will be facilitating the implementation of activities of the ASB PP Secretariat in partnership with the Sub-Regional Agricultural Research Organizations (SROs), namely West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF), Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA), the Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA), and the North African Agricultural Sub-Regional Organization (NAASRO), as well as the African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services (AFAAS).
In response to the announcement, the Executive Director of FARA, Dr. Yemi Akinbamijo, thanked the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment (DARBE) of the African Union Commission (AUC) and the SG for selecting FARA to perform this critical function. He affirmed FARA’s commitment to leveraging its extensive network to galvanize all the relevant stakeholders in the seed sector and biotechnology in Africa towards attaining the vision of keeping Africa food-secure and improving the livelihoods of millions of Africans.
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