FAO-Academia and Research Institution Partnerships: Case studies on successful collaborations towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
The Sustainable Development Goal 17 calls for revitalized global partnerships for sustainable development and among others, seeks to achieve enhanced North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international cooperation on and access to science, technology and innovation and enhanced knowledge sharing on mutually agreed terms. In this regard, FAO works closely with partners across the spectrum to contribute to capacity development towards achievement of the SDGs and is pleased to highlight, through a series of case studies, results achieved through strategic collaborations with academia and research institutions - AfricaRice; the University of Liège; and the Italian Research Institutions: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l'analisi dell'economia agraria (CREA), Agenzia nazionale per le nuove tecnologie, l'energia e lo sviluppo economico e sostenibile (ENEA) and Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA).
These case studies showcase the thematic areas of collaboration, contributions towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, geographical areas of work, key results and the potential for scaling-up of the partnerships to achieve the 2030 Agenda.
AfricaRice
Since 2016 FAO has been collaborating with AfricaRice to help African countries enhance their rice production to achieve self-sufficiency. With these goals in mind, the partnership with AfricaRice has been key in raising awareness and developing capacities on rice related issues. Events organized under the partnership such as the High-Level Ministerial Conference on Rice that took place in September 2018, the development of pilot studies and capacity development activities contributed to the development of national rice policies and institutional frameworks. It is worth mentioning that the collaboration also implemented activities to consolidate rice seed value chains, empower youth and women groups, and disseminate technologies to provide support on rice management practices.
Italian Research Institutions
With the objective of enhancing sustainable food production and improve nutrition, the partnership between FAO and the Italian Research Institutions (CNR, CREA, ENEA and ISPRA) has since 2015 been implementing activities to raise awareness and disseminate knowledge including the organization and participation in events, the publication of guidelines based on the methodology developed through the Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance (LEAP) and the importance of pulses for environmental and nutritional purposes. Further activities highlighted in the Italian Research Institutions case study include the development of capacities in areas related to sustainable agri-food systems and climate services, and the acquisition and dissemination of important data to develop policies targeting hunger, promoting the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food, and enhancing the efficiency of water in agriculture. The case study also dedicates a section to the collaboration on research and innovation initiatives focusing in the Mediterranean area, pest management, response to extreme events and bioenergy.
University of Liège
Officially established in 2017, the partnership with the University of Liège aims to enhance the resilience of African francophone communities in areas related to climate change, the environment, sustainable food systems, and human and animal health. In this regard, the case study highlights the achievement of important results such as the establishment of a South-south and Triangular cooperation initiative between FAO, Gembloux and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences to allow the joint supervision of PhD students in the context of resilience projects, the development of a methodology for the setup of new displacement settings related to climate change, and activities promoting the development of capacities and knowledge dissemination at several levels.
Click on the following links to access the news and case studies on successful collaborations with academia and research institutions released in June 2020 and November 2020.
