IFAD social reporting blog

A game changing conference attracting over 600 delegates including farmers, farmer organizations, traders, bankers, financial institutions, governments, and government agencies, from the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries are meeting in Nairobi, Kenya from 14 to 18 July 2014 to discuss ways of developing a modern and high-performing agricultural financing system that will enable agriculture serve the increasing demands of the urban and global markets. The President of Kenya, His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta is scheduled to officially open the conference.  Several African Agriculture and Finance Ministers, as well as Central Bank Governors are also expected to attend.

The meeting is organized by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA), the African Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (AFRACA), the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and the Kenya School of Monetary Studies (KSMS). Other international organizations, including IFAD, are sponsoring the event.

The Fin4Ag conference will provide a platform for participants to learn about the various tools and initiatives that facilitate successful smallholder-inclusive agri-value chain finance. The conference will focus on the existing working models of agri-value chain finance that enhance food security as well as job, and wealth creation, along with the policy frameworks that support these initiatives.  Central Bank governors will share on what they can do to create an enabling environment for such agricultural financing.  

The conference will also showcase a range of new developments in ICT that aid access to secure financial transactions.  Sixteen digital platforms have confirmed participation on Plug and Play Day, or Day Zero of the conference on 14 July 2014. The event will demonstrate technologies supporting access to credit, payments, savings, and insurance and risk management for value chain actors.  For ICT innovators, this will be a unique opportunity to gain a broader perspective of finance ICTs, while users will have a chance to discover the latest ICT platforms for value chain finance available in the market.

The Plug and Play Day is organized as a precursor to the main conference. The opening ceremony will take place on 15 July 2014.  Various sessions have been organized from the 15 – 17 July 2014, with field trips planned on the last day of the conference to different areas where examples of transformation in agricultural finance will be showcased.

AFRACA, a grant recipient of several IFAD grants, and co-organizer of the conference, will host two sessions: one discussing the issues, and ways of enhancing financing of intra-African food trade, and the second one on strategies for financing agricultural mechanization. The Nairobi-based IFAD Regional Grant, Rural Finance Knowledge Management Partnership (KMP), that has also been extensively involved in the organization of the conference, will also host two sessions: Capacity building: what is missing in agri-value chain finance training and how to fill the gaps; and Information, communication and knowledge management in value chain financing: lessons learnt. In addition KMP organized the documentation of all the field visits that complement the plenary discussions for the delegates attending the conference.

Also participating in the conference is a vibrant group of on-site social reporters drawn from across Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific regions who will be updating social sites on the happenings in the conference. To follow conference proceedings, the website is http://fin4ag.org. For Twitter users, use #Fin4Ag14.

Highlights from the International Symposium and Exhibition on Agricultural Development in the East Africa Community Partner States.

The Vice President of Uganda (Chief Guest),  H.E Edward Ssekandi, visits the IFAD stall at the exhibition

A traditional dance troupe doing Ugandan dances set a celebratory mood at the high end Serena Hotel in Kampala on the first day of the International Symposium and Exhibition on Agricultural Development in the East Africa Community partner states in Kampala Uganda. The symposium organized by Kilimo Trust in partnership with the East African Community (EAC) secretariat and ASARECA focused on the theme “Lessons from the past 50 years and prospects for the future” because all the EAC member states are around the time of celebrating 50 years of independence. The symposium and exhibition was officially opened by the Vice President of Uganda, His Excellency Edward Ssekandi, who emphasized the importance of the East African Common Market in promoting agriculture. “EAC common market is a good opportunity for building economies of scale…an opportunity that should be utilized to ensure food security,” said Ssekandi.





Symposium partners including IFAD, BMGF, CTA and USAID also made statements. On behalf of the IFAD president, the Country Director for Burundi, Mr. Hamed Haidara presented a statement in which he highlighted the importance of smallholder agriculture. “There are unprecedented opportunities to create wealth and eliminate hunger by developing agriculture. And by agriculture, I mean smallholder agriculture,” said Haidara.

Haidara Hamed, IFAD Country Director, ESA shares his statement

The well organized symposium and exhibition has brought many actors in the agriculture sector together – the youth, private sector, public sector, the donor community, local and international organizations, and participants from EAC member states of Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda.

Key note speeches and papers on ‘Lessons for East Africa from Asia and Latin America’, ‘Leap-frogging Agricultural Successes into the next decade and beyond –issues and lessons from CAADP implementation’, as well as ‘Agricultural development and food security in East Africa: overview of challenges and prospects’ were shared. These accentuated the importance of investment in research and improved technologies for the agriculture sector such as a move from the hand hoe to mechanized tilling, from rain-fed agriculture to irrigation, among others, for increased production and productivity. Uma Lele, one of the speakers, noted that a decline in public investment in agriculture leads to a directly proportionate decline in investment by the private sector.

The CAADP presentation highlighted lessons learned from the past ten years, especially, the need to demonstrate results and impact and harnessing private sector investments in agriculture. Over all, CAADP is relevant now as it was ten years ago.

some of the IFAD delegates at the symposium and Exhibition

The afternoon session involved parallel cluster sessions on ‘Production, Productivity and Market Access’, ‘Knowledge Systems and Business Development’, and ‘Human Capital, Natural Resources and Policies’. Details from the cluster discussions will be shared on this space in due course.



Over 50 rural development practitioners from all over the world and a multitude of organization gathered at IFAD this morning for the learning event on participatory mapping.

The event was jointly organized by International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), International Land Coalition (ILC) and Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA).

We kicked off the morning session with a presentation by Giacomo Rambaldi who gave an overview of the opportunities and challenges of participatory mapping. In his presentation Giacomo pointed out that:

• participatory mapping is based on spatial local knowledge


• participatory mapping is good for awareness building, cross generational transfer of knowledge + good governance


• spatial knowledge cannot be captured by satellite


• recently smart phones are used to support participatory mapping


• importance of understanding who is in control of the process? who has visual access? what's left with those who supported the mapping?

Giacomo informed the participants that shortly IFAD and CTA will be releasing the "Training kit on participatory spatial information management and communication".

We then watched an inspiring video entitled " mapping our culture, mapping our future". The video showed how communities use participatory mapping to have their voices heard. It was a great example of cross culture and cross continent knowledge sharing. We watch African communities exchanging their experience with their Latin American brothers and sisters. It was an inspiration piece of exchange between different cultures and ethnicities.

For me, the take home messages from video were:

• that fact that the final step of participatory mapping is to look into the future
• participatory mapping gives indigenous groups sense of community and ownership of the future
• participatory mapping empowers local communities to negotiate at peer 2 peer level and gives the voiceless a voice

As I am writing this blogpost, the participants are busy doing a map. I must say, there is a certain buzz in the room. Great conversation, laughter, but also at times some tension. The group is realizing the challenges of engaging in participatory mapping and at the same time are seeing the value of this tool.

This afternoon, we'll have a speed geeking exercise and a chat show. Stay tuned on the blog and follow us on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/ifadnews or follow hastag #pmapping