HIV/AIDS and Agriculture Conference, 10/07

Title of Conference: "From Research to Action: Mitigating the Impacts of HIV/AIDS on Agriculture and Food Security in West Africa"

Rationale:
The linkages and relationships among the community of actors in HIV/AIDS mitigation--including community-based implementing organizations, policy makers, funding agencies, and research institutions--have not been strongly accentuated in development practice. Highlighting such linkages will foster collaborative learning and enhance the incorporation of such learning in the design and delivery of future programs.

This conference will provide a platform to showcase best practices and knowledge with a view towards strategic adaptation and replication. The positive impact of community-based organizations (CBOs), often working with little training or technical support, is a story which will be highlighted.

In West Africa in particular, there is very little empirical knowledge on the particular needs of HIV/AIDS-affected households, especially with regards to agricultural and nutritional maintenance and improvements. A further issue which emerges in the field is the practical difficulty of implementing training, outreach, and agricultural extension work with non-literate, elderly people.

Across Africa, many innovative projects and models responding to these challenges are being implemented to mitigate the effects of HIV/AIDS. Experience gained provides a rich opportunity for learning and exchange among the practitioner and research community in West Africa. This in turn can usefully inform and guide new programs and policies at various levels.

This forum will be one of the first international events of its kind in West Africa to focus on the inter-related nature of HIV/AIDS, food insecurity, and malnutrition, as well as practical strategies for mitigating their devastating human and economic consequences. Stakeholders will have the opportunity to share experiences and gain knowledge about effective programming strategies in the areas of mitigating HIV/AIDS and its effects on agriculture and food security, as well as scaling up best practices and policies.

Business leaders and government representatives will be fully involved to help inform programmatic decisions based on frontline experiences in the struggle against HIV/AIDS. It will also be an occasion for scientists, NGOs, extension workers, and farmers to reflect on and identify what the future challenges there will be for research institutes in terms of technology development and adaptation to affected households and farmers.

Conference Goal:
-Provide a platform for exchange, sharing of knowledge, and learning about best practices/technologies for mitigating the agricultural, food security, and nutritional impacts of HIV/AIDS on rural communities in West Africa.

Conference Objectives:
-Enhance learning and information sharing between program implementers on best practices/technologies and lessons learned through presentations, workshops and site visits. -Build and strengthen partnerships for continued learning and research. -Identify ways of improving collaboration among a wide array of entities (governments, nonprofits, donors, the private sector, researchers) as a sustainable strategy to address the food and nutrition requirements of people and communities affected by HIV/AIDS. -Explore ways to provide short-term relief and map out strategies for scaling up promising pilot projects on HIV/AIDS, agriculture, food security, and nutrition.
-Bring together policy-makers and people with practical experience in scaling up these experiences.
-Launch a capacity-building effort in collaboration with partners in SSA.

Expected Outcomes:
-New and strengthened networks for research and action for HIV/AIDS mitigation established.
-Prioritized research and action agenda outlined. -A framework and guidelines for action developed. -A portfolio of creative strategies and practices already in use will be elaborated.
-Strategies for joint fundraising formulated. -Capacity-building strategies explored and detailed, from design to implementation.

Structure and Format:
The conference will take a thematic approach and will include plenary, roundtable, and small-group sessions. Plenary presentations will include invited and peer-reviewed papers. Professionals and institutions that have made significant contributions through their work and interventions in HIV/AIDS mitigation will be invited to present papers at the plenary sessions.

Smaller sessions and roundtables will include case studies of best practices, methodologies, and strategies from practitioners and researchers. Field trips will be arranged to complement conference presentations and discussions. The final day will be spent summing up the main findings in relation to the conference themes, and developing a joint action plan and way forward.

Proposed thematic focal points will include: Theme 1: Regional challenges and responses of research on the conference themes
Theme 2: Policies and interventions
Theme 3: Best practices/successful strategies on conference themes highlighted
Theme 4: Programs that have been scaled up and lessons learned Theme 5: Trans-African perspectives

Conference Dates and Venue:
The conference is proposed for four (4) days, to take place in Cotonou, Benin, from October 1-4, 2007.

For Further Information, contact:
John Woodend
Programme Co-ordinator
EU-ACP Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) Agro Business Park 2, 6708 PW Wageningen The Netherlands
Tel: + 31 317 467 164

Fax: + 31 317 460 067
E-mail: woodend@cta.int
Website: http://www.cta.int
CTA e-newsletters: http://www.cta.int/about/newsletter.htm
Rita A. Agboh-Noameshie
Agro-Sociologist

Coordinator of System Wide Initiative on HIV-AIDS and Agriculture (SWIHA) Africa Rice Center
01 BP 2031 Cotonou BENIN
Tel: (229) 21 35 01 88 /Ext 324
Fax :(299) 21 35 05 56
Email: mailto:a.agboh-noameshie@cgiar.org

Page Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar, Ph.D.