An inception workshop for a new research project entitled, “Promoting Participatory and Evidence-Based Agricultural Policy Processes in Africa (PEBAP)”, was held in Dakar, Senegal on 30 May to 1 June 2012.  Funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the project is being jointly implemented by IFPRI and the Universities of Kiel and Hohenheim, in collaboration with local research institutions in Ghana, Uganda, and Senegal: The Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research (ISSER), the Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles (ISRA), and the African Institute for Strategic Resource Services and Development, respectively.

More photos at Flickr

The project, in support of the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Program (CAADP), will be conducting research on African policy processes in close collaboration with local stakeholders and policy makers in Ghana, Uganda and Senegal with a view to increasing political performance that result in more effective and poverty-oriented policies and strategies. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, research results will help identify practical institutional strategies that will help policy-makers and administrative staff at the central and subnational levels to more effectively exploit existing evidence on policy options available to them in the implementation of their national agricultural strategies.

Senegal was recently awarded $40 million grants by Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) in support of CAADP implementation in the country.  Read more about GAFSP grants >>

Useful links:

• Ghana:  Medium Term Agriculture Sector Investment Plan (METASIP)
• Uganda: Agriculture Sector  Development Strategy and Investment Plan (DSIP)
• Senegal: PROGRAMME NATIONAL D’INVESTISSEMENT AGRICOLE (PNIA)