Context
In most African countries, agriculture is the most important sector for combating poverty and attaining food security for the population. The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), a continent-wide initiative of the African Union and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), brings together various measures intended to increase agricultural production.
An important part of this is the creation of value chains. To date, however, training measures to establish the expertise needed to develop such value chains have been lacking. Besides shortcomings in the policy and business environment, there is also a shortage of qualified staff at all levels, both in the CAADP country teams and in the ministries of education and agriculture.
Shortfalls are also evident in practical implementation. There are no documented examples of successful value chains, and there is no exchange of experience or functioning cooperation between the state and private-sector actors at regional level. Consequently, in many countries, farmers and entrepreneurs lack the necessary know-how to make meaningful investments or to increase agricultural productivity. The dearth of training measures is having an adverse effect on the growth targets of the CAADP initiative.
Objective
Sustainable vocational training for the agricultural sector is firmly established in the CAADP structures and processes in selected countries.
Approach
The project aims to integrate agricultural training courses systematically in the CAADP implementation process. To achieve this, GIZ is carrying out activities in five areas.
1. Provision of training at continental, regional and national levels to enable participants to integrate agricultural vocational training measures into national agricultural investment plans
2. Preparation and dissemination of best practice examples with respect to agricultural training measures
3. Development of approaches for the reform of vocational training systems in the agricultural sector
4. Advice and support for state and private-sector agricultural training institutions for the development of demand-oriented further training courses
5. Development of pilot vocational training courses for agripreneurs, geared to market needs and aimed at young people
The NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA), based in Midrand, South Africa, is responsible for implementing this project.
The project is also active in six pilot countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Togo), where it cooperates closely with ministries and training institutions responsible for agricultural training and education.
Results achieved so far
Within the NPCA, which is coordinating the implementation of CAADP at continental level, agricultural training has assumed a high priority as a result of GIZ’s advisory initiatives. With the support of the project, an Africa-wide strategy for agricultural education and training was developed (Agricultural Education and Skills Improvement Framework, AESIF). Furthermore, at continental level, a virtual knowledge management platform has recently been established, which will collect successful agricultural education measures from across the continent and make them available to relevant decision-makers.
In the pilot countries, the project has contributed to placing vocational training for the agricultural sector on the national agendas. A high level of awareness of the topic of agricultural training among policymakers has been achieved within a very short period. The integration of the topic into national agricultural investment plans is expected to still take place in the course of the duration of the project. Moreover, the project successfully supported the implementation of agricultural training measures along selected value chains. In Ghana for example, about 300 students could be qualified in the value chains citrus and pineapple on the basis of newly developed curricula.