| Research and technology Development
service (SDRR)
About the Women and Development Unit
Projects & Activities
Meetings & Events
Publications
Links
Contacts
About the Women and Development
Unit
The Service, within the Sustainable Development Department
of FAO, assists AFrican Country Members to develop and maintain relevant,
effective and efficient national agricultural research systems (NARS)
to generate adapt and transfer appropriate technologies for improved
and sustainable production systems in agriculture, forestry and fisheries.
The Service also assist the NARS of Africa and their
networks to develop appropriate policies and strategies, to mobilize
their available resources in a coherent manner and to develop linkages
and partnerships among relevant national, regional and international
stakeholders of agricultural research and technology continuum.
The Service provides professional leadership in defining
and addressing critical issues pertinent to sustainable development
as well as the development of FAO policies, strategies and integrated
programmes in the areas of its competence. The Service has organization
wide responsibility for coordinating research and technology development
activities.
http://www.fao.org/sd/sdrr/index-en.asp
Projects and Activities
The Service is now actively involved in the development
of three mayor kind of projects related to biotechnology (policies,
risk assessment, information networks, etc.) technology transfer (needs
assessment, documentation, information and dissemination of proven technologies,
etc.) and strengthening and support to the formulation of national research
plans and strategies.
Here we find a list of projects we a re implementing
in Africa in which SDRR is the Lead Technical Unit.
TCP/RAF/2913 Appui à la dissémination
des connaissances et technologies agricoles pour la sécurité
alimentaire et le développement durable http://www.fao.org/sd/sdrr/project_2913raf_en.asp
GCP/ERI/006/ITA Strengthening of Agricultural
Research in Eritrea -Phase II
http://www.fao.org/sd/sdrr/project_006eri_en.asp
TCP/SWA/3003 Strengthening national
capacities in formulation and implementation of legal instruments on
genetically modified organisms (GMOs) http://www/fao.org/sd/sdrr/projects_3003swa_en.asp
GCP/INT/758/EC-DRC-2 Etude d'évaluation
des capacités opérationnelles de différentes stations
de recherche agricole de l'Institut National pour l'Etude de la Recherche
Agronomique (INERA) http://www.fao.org/sd/sdrr/project_758DRC_en.asp
Other projects in which SDRR is participating actively:
Meetings and Events
Publications
• Integrating food security issues into agricultural
research
• Impact of Foreign Assistance on Institutional Development
of National Agricultural Research Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems for Rural Development
(AKIS/RD)
• Agricultural biotechnology for developing countries - Results
of an electronic forum
• FAO Glossary of Biotechnology for Food and Agriculture
• Directories of National Agricultural Research Institutions:
Near East and North Africa, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and Latin
America and the Caribbean.
Databases
This is a list of databases developed by SDRR with
relevant data for the region.
• Directory of National Agricultural Research
Institutions
The FAO Directory of National Agricultural Research Institutions aims
to facilitate the sharing of technical information, knowledge and
experience and to promote partnerships among national, regional and
international agricultural research institutions and systems. The
web site is available in English, French and Spanish and provides
an easy and fast access to National Agricultural Research Institutions
in the developing world. It offers baseline information and contact
details of 1708 institutions in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the
Caribbean, Eastern Europe, Far and Near East and the Pacific Islands.
Last update was March 2004.
• Database of Proven Transferable Technologies
(TECA)
TECA aims at improving access to information and knowledge about available
proven technologies in order to enhance their adoption in agriculture,
livestock, fisheries and forestry. The web site is available in English,
French and Spanish. TECA provides a database of proven technologies
with currently 250 records of proven technologies; tools to manage
and systemize technology repositories; access to databases of other
TECA members and other repositories of technologies and; access to
a global database of agricultural research institutions with 1708
entries. It is structured as a global network of repositories so it
is continuously updated. Countries and institutions participating
in TECA include Honduras and Guatemala in support of SPFS, the Democratic
Republic of Congo for technologies on cassava, and INBAR for technologies
on Bamboo and Rattan.
See the Brochure: Page 1 and Page 2.
• Database of Biotechnologies in Use in Developing
Countries (FAO-BioDeC)
FAO-BioDeC is a database meant to gather, store, organize and disseminate,
updated baseline information on the state-of-the-art of crop biotechnology
products and techniques, which are in use, or in the pipeline in developing
countries. The main objective of FAO-BioDeC is to give an overview
of the different stages of adoption and development of these technologies
in different countries and regions; it may assist to identify needs
and gaps in agricultural biotechnology research and offer countries
the opportunity to give a closer look to programmes in neighbouring
countries and identify potential partners for joint programmes. The
database at this stage is limited to research, testing and commercialization
of specific crop technologies and products in developing countries.
No quantitative information is available with regards to the human
capacity or funding involved. It does not cover activities carried
out in developed countries even if they are meant for subsequent use
or adoption in developing countries, nor does it cover research being
carried out in international research centers located in developing
countries. Verification and regular updating of information in the
database is being done through a network of national correspondents.
FAO-BioDeC will soon be expanded to include the animal, fisheries
and forestry biotechnology sectors.
• FAO Glossary of Biotechnology for Food and
Agriculture
The glossary is a revised, augmented version of the "Glossary
of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering", published by FAO in
1999. In 2001, the process of revising the Glossary was undertaken
to update the definitions of this rapidly evolving field and to enrich
the number of terms defined. It now includes about 450 new terms,
about 100 old terms have been deleted and it contains a total of 3,196
terms and related definitions.
• Agricultural Research Funding Guide
This guide provides access to available funding resources for agricultural
research. It makes available information of donors and sponsors at
regional and global levels offering funding opportunities for training
courses (21 entries), scholarships (awards, grants, fellowships -
27 entries) and research projects (87 entries). It also offers access
to global and regional directories and services (38 entries). The
directories offer a collection of links to funding sources, and the
services offer guidance to available funding sources, assistance with
proposal preparation, etc. A new section on donors and sponsors supporting
miscellaneous activities such as scientific equipment, etc., will
be available soon. The web site is in English only but records are
available in their original language, mostly Spanish and French.
Links
SFDRR Web site: http://www-data.fao.org/sd/sdrr/index_en.asp
Mandate, activities, projects, databases, publications,
etc.
Biotech Web site: http://www/fao.org/biotech/
News, documents, reports, activities, forums, databases,
contacts, links, etc.
FARA: http://www.fara-africa.org/
Forum of Agriculture Research in Africa
Contacts
AbdoulAziz Sy,
Senior Officer (Science and Technology)
FAO REgional Office for Africa
Gamel Abdul Nasser Road
PO Box GP 1628
Accra, Ghana
Telephone: + 233 21 3128
Facsimile: + 233 21 701 09 43
e-mail: AbdoulAziz.Sy@fao.org
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