CCARDESA Lauds the Launch of the Africa Foresight Academy Framework (AFA)
The Centre for coordination of Agricultural Research and Development in Southern Africa(CCARDESA) in partnership with the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and the other CAADP exPillar IV institutions (CAADP-XP4), namely; the African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services (AFAAS), Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in East and Central Africa (ASARECA), the West and Central Africa Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF), held a two-day hybrid (Virtual & Face to Face) workshop from 8th to 9th September 2021 to validate and adopt the Africa Foresight Academy (AFA) organizing framework and define the evolutionary pathways for AFA in the use of participatory foresight.
The European Foresight Platform defines foresight as a systematic, participatory, future intelligence gathering, and medium to long-term vision planning process aimed at enabling present-day decisions and mobilizing joint actions. Therefore, the focus of foresight activity within the CAADP-XP4 consortium aims at fostering forward-thinking capacity on how innovation and knowledge can best help surmount the diverse challenges facing agriculture in Africa. This ensures that agricultural research and innovation are more responsive to future agri-food systems and related development needs.
The workshop's other objectives were to promote and support food system foresight processes across the continent, develop the capacity of those brokering, and facilitate and support foresight processes effectively with the latest methodology and tools. The CAADP-XP4 Consortium is supported by the European Union (EU) through funding administered by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The programme has among others, the mandate to strengthen the capacity for foresight among professionals and communities of practice in African institutions.
CCARDESA's Executive Director, Dr Cliff Dlamini, gave the opening remarks at the workshop on behalf of the consortium, emphasizing how FARA and the CAADP-XP4 institutions are facilitating the capacitating of African institutions on foresight. He observed that the framework is contemporary, relevant to the times and is also comprehensive. He urged the participants to take advantage of the expertise within the AFA network of experts & practitioners. Dr Dlamini further called for a commitment to the foresight process and urged all the Sub-regional organizations to support the formation of Country Foresight Hubs (CFH), including engagement with Sub-regional champions and the creation of the communities of practice. Dr Dlamini expressed optimism that FARA at the continental level will steer the AFA foresight agenda and that national agricultural research institutions such as Universities will support curriculum development and implementation and eventually embrace the notion of the Africa Foresight Academy (AFA). He intimated that CCARDESA was grateful to be part of the engagement and applauded FARA for the great initiative.
The workshop participants noted that FARA had drafted a consolidated framework of AFA with inputs from partners that encapsulates a nodal network structure that will allow country nodes and focal point persons to implement and support foresight activities. They followed an approach that will work closely with participating institutions to strengthen systems thinking, scenario development, planning and learning food system approaches and alternative futures and build a community of practice.
The participants also learned that the framework has four primary activities, with the first aiming at strengthening the AFA Leadership & Coordination, which will involve consolidating the framework, succession plan, and promoting the Foresight process to support the Agrifood Innovation System in Africa. Secondly, this will include nominating Champions from Regional, Sub- Regional and country levels, reporting channels from local to the national node. The third activity would be developing the curriculum, which will also include reviewing and adopting by participating Universities, Research Organizations, and microlearning. Last but not the least activity is creating at least 40 country foresight Hubs, which will include Focal Points persons and an international network of experts.
The virtual workshop was highly interactive, with participants using Jam boards to feed in the various frameworks, which will form part of the framework. The meeting was well attended, and participants are now looking forward to fully implementing the framework. The AFA initiative aligns well with the foresight capacity-building work that CCARDESA has been rolling out in the SADC region, where over 250 stakeholders have been trained on Foresight for Climate Resilience.
