Photo Credit: Kenya's LSU Plant Pathology and Crop Physiology Photo Gallery

On the 24^th August 2011 in Nairobi, Kenya the Ministry of Livestock and the Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support Systems (ReSAKSS) Eastern and Central Africa node (ReSAKSS-ECA) based at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in collaboration with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is organizing a national forum that will bring together national policy researchers, policy makers and other stakeholders to deliberate on research based presentations that addresses some national agricultural policy and investment needs under the Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (ASDS) and the CAADP framework. Within COMESA secretariat this activity is implemented by the programme on Guiding Investments to Strengthen Agricultural Markets in Africa (GISAMA).

In an effort to address the current and pressing problem of high food prices the theme of the forum will be “Policy Options for Food Security in the Era of High and Rising Food Prices”. During this workshop a number of policy relevant papers will be presented to provide practical insights on how to address the contemporary problem of high and rising food prices. The participants to this forum will be drawn from a wide range of stakeholder groups in the agriculture sector including agriculture line ministries, research institutions, the academia, farmer organization, development partners, civil society organizations and COMESA.