Output 3: Policies in support of climate-relevant agriculture and food systems transformation formulated, investments increased, advocacy and market linkages strengthened.

Under this Output, ASARECA will focus on policy advocacy and harmonization in support of climate-relevant agriculture transformation leading to food security and economic growth as well as target market linkages and strengthening of regional institutional arrangements to enable regional trade, markets and trans-boundary commodity movement and improved investment in agriculture transformation. ASARECA will:

a) Strengthen capacities of regional and national organizations in climate-relevant policy analysis, formulation and advocacy.

To implement this activity area, ASARECA will:

i. Assess capacity gaps and develop capacity strengthening plans related to policy analysis & formulation at national and regional levels.

(i) Adapt existing capacity assessment tools in FARA or within European Partners to undertake the assessment. Focus will be on use of the Policy Practice Index;

(ii) Commission studies using these tools;

(iii) Convene validation workshops for experts, including European Partners; and

(iv) Aggregate the findings from national at the sub-regional level before relaying to FARA/AFAAS.

(v) Conduct training and organize technical assistance in policy analysis formulation, advocacy and resource mobilization.

(vi) Develop training materials/curriculum based on the findings of the capacity assessment above:

(vii) Coordinate/convene training sessions targeting policy makers on policy analysis of climate-relevant STI and policy formulation, particularly of identified policy gaps from the analyses;

(viii) Convene training sessions targeting other stakeholders, and focusing on advocacy and resource mobilization; and

(ix) Consolidate training reports.

(x). Develop and promote guidelines for inclusion of relevant climate STI indicators in NAIPs, for use by regional and continental institutions.

(xi) facilitate adoption of the guidelines at national level;

(xii) Conduct periodic/annual assessment of performance; and

(xiii) Organize workshops for regional actors on integrating environmental, social safeguards into existing agriculture and food security plans.

b) Develop capacities for application of foresight relevant to climate change.

ASARECA will  Sensitize stakeholders about the relevance of foresight and specifically:

(i) Identify stakeholders to participate/facilitate the workshop

(ii) Convene annual high-level policy meetings with stakeholders.

(iii) Develop competencies in conducting foresight and in interpretation of foresight results.

(iv) Co-develop guidelines and tools/instruments for the trainings

(v) Convene annual meetings with stakeholders, especially high-level policy-makers, selected members of NARES and ASARECA staff; and

(vi) Partner with FARA/GFAR to develop capacities for application of foresight relevant to climate change and agri-transformation.

(vii) Organize technical assistance to enable regional and national organizations to participate in foresight initiatives and apply results from past/ongoing foresight initiatives. ASARECA will:

(viii) Identify stakeholders who need technical assistance;

(ix) Share the co-developed guidelines and tools/instruments with selected stakeholders;

(x) Convene foresight stakeholder engagements to deepen the application of foresight and provide a basis/process for updating thematic priorities

(xi) Convene specialized technical assistance sessions for high-level policy-makers, selected members of NARES and ASARECA staff on application of results of past/ongoing foresight initiatives.

(xii). Gather feedback on the use of foresight tools and use it to inform improvements in application of foresight. ASARECA will: Co-develop tools for gathering relevant data from the national level; Coordinate national level surveys using the co-developed tools; Convene validation workshops to share survey findings from the target countries; Revise tools as appropriate for quicker/easier adaption at country level.

c) Bridge the science-policy nexus through inclusive and evidence-supported policy dialogues and strategic communication sensitive to climate change.

ASARECA Will

i. Convene policy dialogues at sub-regional levels (including for AES) on CSA, climate-relevant issues and interregional trade and market access. ASARECA will specifically:

(i) Identify stakeholders to participate /facilitate national-level policy dialogues;

(ii) Convene annual national-level meetings;

(iii) Consolidate the findings/deliberations from national-level dialogues and share with FARA/AFAAS;

(iv) Convene trainings at sub-regional level on application of Policy Practice Index;

(v) Convene workshops in ECA for key climate scientists and country UNFCCC focal points to enhance their negotiation ability in CoP meetings;

(vi) Link outcomes of policy dialogues at various levels (national & sub-regional level);

(vii) Build capacities of regional and national organizations in communication as an instrument for policy advocacy and implementation

(viii) Organize high level policy dialogue at sub-regional level based on assessments of climate-relevant outcomes at national level;

(ix) Harmonize outcomes of climate-relevant studies (on land, water, nutrition, etc.) at sub-regional and country level including action plans; and

(x) Communicate and share findings and advocate for support at all levels.

ii. Provide technical support for strategic communication regarding policy reforms and impacts; develop policy briefs and communication material. ASARECA will:

(i) Coordinate co-development of guidelines for preparation of Policy Briefs at country level;

(ii) Continuously communicate the outcomes of policy reforms to out-scale their impacts using developed & packaged key messages for evidence-based advocacy and policy reforms;

(iii) Develop targeted communication materials, including Policy Briefs and disseminate through various channels;

(iv) Coordinate the development of a joint strategy for resource mobilisation;

(v) Partner with RECs to enhance reporting on the 1% AGDP target in the CAADP Biennial Review reporting (e.g. through EAC Joint Sector Review on Mutual Accountability Mechanism); and collaborate with RECs in convening ToTs for enhanced skills in collection of Malabo datasets. As a means of implementing this activitity, ASARECA will: Provide technical support for policy formulation at national, sub-regional and continental levels; gather feedback on the effectiveness of climate-relevant policies and advocacy; convene technical workshops for climate change specialists in ECA to tackle emerging issues on CoP negotiations; sponsor climate scientists and UNFCCC Focal Points in ECA to attend the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technical Advice (SBSTA) of the UNFCCC and CoPs; and update guidelines for the PPI to strengthen the formulation and implementation of climate-relevant policies.

d) Strengthen the enabling environment for regional trade, markets and trans-boundary commodity movement, with focus on climate-related commodities.

ASARECA will:

i. Provide technical support to national and regional organizations on strengthening quality control of agricultural inputs and products, to increase cross-border trade by:

(i) Identifying stakeholders who need technical assistance on quality control;

(ii) Sharing appropriate guidelines and tools/instruments for quality control with the selected stakeholders; and

(iii) Convening specialized training of national stakeholders in ECA to provide technical support to national and sub-regional organizations on strengthening quality control of agricultural inputs and products.

ii. Conduct regional reviews of trade in agricultural inputs and commodities with the goal to increase implementation of existing policies in support of cross-border trade by:

(i) Analyzing and collating relevant data to support the case for increased cross-border trade, thus enhancing access to national, regional and international markets;

(ii) Convening national reviews of trade in agricultural inputs and commodities with selected stakeholders; and

(iii) Consolidating national reviews into sub-regional Synthesis Report, and share with FARA/AFAAS for continental consolidation.

iii. Conduct evidence-supported advocacy to improve the implementation of existing policies to support cross border trade in agricultural inputs and commodities by:

(i) Assembling evidence to enhance advocacy on trade and regional harmonization;

(ii) Convening regional policy dialogues to share/discuss the consolidated report/findings;

(iii) Consolidating national reports into regional status reports, and share with FARA/AFAAS; and

(iv) Communicating the outcomes of policy reforms to out-scale their impacts at national and sub-regional level on bi-annual basis.