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NEW SCIENTISTS ON BOARD
Two scientists have joined SARRNET, Mr. Sicco Kolijn and Dr
Nzola Meso Mahungu. Mr. Sicco joined in July 2000 as a SARRNET
Post-harvest Specialist and is based at ARI- Mikocheni, Dar-Es-
Salaam, Tanzania. Dr Mahungu was until he left in 1998 the
Assistant Coordinator for SARRNET Phase I. He has been re-appointed
since mid-September 2000 as SARRNET Coordinator, replacing
Dr James Teri. The joining of the two scientists is envisaged
to strengthen project further to meet the market-led targets.
IITA - CIAT COLLABORATION ON SARRNET ACTIVITIES
The need for strengthening
the market orientation was highlighted at the 2000 SARRNET
Malawi Steering committee meeting, by both the IITA management
and the donor. Considering CIAT vast experience on cassava
integrated project, IITA invited its sister organisation for
possible collaboration between the two institutions towards
more enhanced cooperation to improve production marketing
and utilization of cassava. Thus, CIAT - IITA scientists made
an exploratory visit to Malawi from 6 to 11 November 2000.
The team consisted of Drs Ospina Bernado and Rupert Best of
CIAT, Dr A. Dixon of IITA Ibadan, Dr James Abaka-Whyte Team
Leader for IITA ESARC and Coordinator of EARRNET, Mr. Sicco
Kolijn IITA/SARRNET post harvest scientist based in Tanzania,
Dr Idumbo Kasele IITA/SARRNET scientist based in Zimbabwe.
From Malawi, the Coordinator and three local SARRNET staff
joined the team. The team visited key stakeholders in the
marketing, industry, policy makers, private entrepreneurs
and also attended a debriefing on Grades and Standards (G
& S) which was presented by University of Michigan in
conjunction with the Agricultural Policy Unit of Bunda College
of Agriculture on behalf of USAID/RCSA. It was interesting
to note during this G & S debriefing that cassava is among
the few commodities with high export potential if its products
grades and standards are improved to meet the international
requirements.
The main objective of the IITA-CIAT meeting in Malawi was
to review the strategy and activities of the second phase
of the SARRNET project and to seek ways of strengthening the
research orientation towards a more market driven approach.
It was also apparent from meetings with public and private
sector agents in Malawi on this mission, that developing cassava
into a more commercial crop was of high priority. Transforming
cassava from a food security staple to a motor for economic
growth is therefore strongly supported by the farming and
business community and this objective is also well suited
to the goals of the CGIAR and the national programmes in the
region, to commercialize cassava at both the small and medium
scale levels.
This meeting, therefore focused on a status report of SARRNET
now and setting out a plan for developing a new workplan for
SARRNET which would map the path from now until to September
2002, when phase 2 terminates. Essentially, the output from
the meeting was a clear understanding about "What the
market is demanding" in terms of R&D for the two
target crops and what activities SARRNET would undertake to
achieve these objectives. It was noted in the meeting that
there is a tendency to think that if we are to be market oriented,
then this a role that should be taken by the marketing and
processing team, and does not involve the production or pest
and disease scientists. The reality is however, that for farmers
to succeed in the market place, all the components in the
production to sales chain need to be in place.
As part of the discussions, the aim of the meeting was also
to achieve a common understanding of what it means to be enterprise
oriented and what changes we need to take on as a group in
order to be able to make rational business decisions and shift
to working for the market options rather than simply increasing
yield and hoping the market sorts itself out. The cases of
tobacco and maize in Malawi are good examples of how changing
market demands and poor production planning can lead to increasing
the poverty of farmers rather than enhancing their livelihoods.
With respect to the SARRNET strategy, there is a need to clearly
stratify activities that are national in perspective, those
that have a regional spill over and whether we need to investigate
the possibility of a two track system which primarily supports
(i) small-scale farmers and farmer cooperatives and (ii) supports
the needs of supply into larger industrial markets. These
options are not mutually exclusive but may require different
approaches if we are to make rapid progress in the next remaining
20 months.
Other aspects that needed to be resolved are the integration
of the various complementary multi-lateral and bilateral projects,
which are being conducted under the umbrella of SARRNET. These
include the OFDA project, the Mozambique projects and the
forthcoming CFC project. There is also a question of overlap
between projects that are being done in the SADC and ASARECA
regions and this all points to the need for a robust strategic
plan based on the crop, which can be used to accommodate and
co-ordinate the individual projects.
Finally, the meeting needed to provide a clear mission for
SARRNET, which engages the challenge set by IITA and USAID
to reformulate SARRNET onto a clearly market driven approach.
DEFINITION OF SARRNET STRATEGIES
During the same IITA-CIAT meeting held in Lilongwe, three
major areas of emphasis (objectives) were discerned as follow:
- Food security (ameliorating natural disasters and civil
strife): Provision of planting material such as the
OFDA project or other bilateral projects.
- Income generation and equity (farmer biased): Link
smallholder farmers to high value markets where the majority
of the value is retained in the rural sector such as the
in-coming CFC project.
- Import substitution / foreign exchange earnings (biased
towards industrial private sector): Production efficiency,
higher volume where the majority of the value is retained
by the industrial private sector.
It was agreed that SARRNET should address the above 3 objectives
as a gradient from smallholder farmers to industrial processors.
Areas of collaboration for SARRNET, CIAT and CLAYUCA for
the period 2001 to 2002 were also identified.
POSSIBLE AREAS OF IITA - CIAT COLLABORATION
ON SARRNET IN 2001-2002
Information and technologies: From the visit, the areas of
interest are flour and starch. Some possibilities for CIAT
and CLAYUCA to support these activities exist. On high demand
for information, CIAT and CLAYUCA are already developing information
systems including information on animal feed.
Human resource development: Organization of study tour(s)
to Latin American cassava producing countries to raise awareness
about new opportunities and industrial processes for cassava.
Study tours should be organized for farmers, processors and
policy makers. CIP is also organizing a tour to Vietnam and
China for sweetpotato focussing on animal feed. Participation
in training to develop market development and enterprise skills
for SARRNET's national partners.
Pilot project design and execution: Participation in the
design and execution of development of community-based integrated
cassava agro-enterprise projects in selected target countries.
CIAT and CLAYUCA can be the consultants and play advisory
role in this aspect in collaboration with the partners in
the SARRNET team.
Monitoring and evaluation: CIAT and CLAYUCA could interact
with the SARRNET and IITA-Ibadan on the development of guidelines
for the implementation of monitoring and evaluation systems,
and subsequent technology adoption studies, for the integrated
cassava agro-enterprise projects.
Private-public partnerships: Support to the design and implementation
of national approaches to promote public-private partnerships
in selected countries. Assess the viability of a similar approach
at the regional level, based on the results obtained at a
national level.
RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE SC FROM THE
IITA-CIAT MEETING
¨ That SARRNET will not approve new projects based on the
previously implemented competitive grant.
¨ SARRNET will initiate a review of the existing projects
which were set up within the competitive grant. Specific persons
will review the projects within the specified areas.
¨ Future activities will be developed by SARRNET in collaboration
with partners and activities will be commissioned to support
the new strategy.
¨ Funds for SARRNET need to be used in a manner appropriate
with USAID regulations.
Need to ensure that information based on the project is circulated
to the wider group.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Absence from office
The
coordinator will be in Mocambique as from 7th to 9th August,
2001 for a workshop on Cassava Brown Streak Virus (CBSV).
Workshops sponsorship
The ISTRC-Africa Branch workshop for 2001 will take place
in Yaounde. SARRNET has set aside US$30,000 which can sponsor
10-15 scientists. The same funds can also sponsor one scientist
to Lima for a sweetpotato conference and only 50% of the cost
can be met and should not be more than US$2,000. The rest
can be met by CIP. SARRNET will give preference to the grantees
of the competitive
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