Agricultural Transformation Technologies and Innovations

This investment area focuses on supporting and coordinating the development and adaptation of technologies and innovations to address priority regional agricultural transformation challenges; development of approaches, methods, tools and pathways for enhancing uptake and widespread utilization of technologies, innovations and management practices; enhancing scaling up of priority integrated regional agricultural value chains; and supporting development of private sector-driven agribusinesses and entrepreneurships.

The strategic result areas required to deliver this investment include:

1. Support and coordinate development and adaptation of gender responsive and climate-smart technologies, innovations and
   management practices
2. Support and coordinate scaling up of gender responsive and climate-smart technologies, innovations and management practices; and
3. Support and coordinate development and scaling up of gender responsive and youth focused regional value chains and agribusinesses.

Some of the major challenges, stated in the opportunity format, that investments in this area  shall address include:

• Strengthening participatory research planning, priority setting, programme/project development and implementation to address demand driven regional priorities.
• Advocating for increase in budgetary allocation to finance communication and promotion of uptake and scaling up of research results.
• Advocating for linking reward and incentive systems for researchers to delivery of outcomes and impact instead of academic qualification and scientific publications.
• Improving monitoring and evaluation of programmes and projects for communication, uptake, utilization and impact of technologies and innovations.
• Strengthening dissemination processes to improve uptake, utilization and scaling up of agricultural technologies and innovations.
• Ensuring sufficient involvement of farmers and other end-users in the generation of technologies and innovations to ensure relevance and appropriateness.
• Improving development, upgrading and competitiveness of agricultural value chains to enhance their contribution to improved livelihoods, employment and wealth creation, and income generation.
• Strengthening linkages between research, extension and training/education institutions to improve agricultural research, extension and training service delivery.
• Improving investments in AR4D by governments and the private sector to reduce over reliant on development partner funding that is not sustainable.