L Xingwana: Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa

14 June 2007

Excellencies,
Ministers & Deputy Ministers
Members of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures
MECs of Agriculture in the nine provinces of South Africa
Heads of Departments (HODs) of Agriculture in provinces of South Africa
Directors-General
Agricultural Research Council (ARC) CEO and President
President of Agri-SA,
President of National African Farmers' Union (NAFU),
President of Transvaal Agricultural Union (TAU)-SA
Chairperson of the National Agricultural Research Forum (NARF)
Members of the NARF
House of Traditional Leaders
Ambassadors

There is an urgent need for innovation in agriculture in order to address
the chronic food deficiencies which still affect two-thirds of the people in
Africa. Also, Africa will need innovative approaches to address the 6% growth
target in agricultural production agreed by the African Union's (AU's) New
Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad).

Some would argue that there is sufficient new information available -
technologies, practices and policies - to achieve this but that the mechanisms
for promoting these new findings, especially through publicly�funded systems,
has deteriorated such that they have become ineffective for the masses of rural
farmers. Whether one agrees with the notion that more research is required or
not, the mere fact that a great deal of very relevant information is already
available, but not being effectively promoted and taken up, is a travesty.

Hence, I welcome this Department for International Development's (DFID's
initiative to launch a new programme entitled 'Research into Use.' As the name
of this 5 year programme implies, it focuses on working with national and
regional institutions to improve their capacity to get new research into use;
and it foresees achieving this through strengthening both the quality and
relevance of the information, through a better understanding of socio-economic
and other tensions which encourage users � mostly, resource-poor small farmers
- to adopt such information, and by engaging with traditional and new partners
to strengthen both the supply of goods and services and sustainable markets for
their farm products. This will require a considerable shift in their thinking
(to 'business unusual') and in risk taking.

And this is where the capacity strengthening and mentoring components of
'Research Into Use' will play a significant role. As for government, we too can
play a key role in ensuring that policies are more enabling, that credit and
insurance schemes for small farmers are enabled, active internal and export
markets are encouraged, prices for primary agricultural products are not
subject to vast fluctuations and that added value industries and non-farm rural
enterprises are encouraged.

This is an exciting initiative; it is both encompassing and inclusive. We
trust that it will be successful in identifying how research information can be
effectively and widely adopted in the different environments found in African
and South Asian countries and that these in turn will guide national
authorities how to better utilise research information to improve the
livelihoods of its citizens.

Without more ado, I have pleasure in opening the launch event of the
Research into Use. I would encourage you to visit the RIU stand and trust you
learned more about the new Programme during the Research In to Use side-event.
I wish the programme good fortune in its voyage of discovery.

Thank you.

Issued by: Department of Agriculture
14 June 2007
Source: Department of Agriculture (http://www.nda.agric.za/)