National Developments in Bridging AR and ARD:  MoU between Teagasc and Irish Aid

Presentation to 8th ARCH Meeting

Brussels

26th May 2015

Dr Lance O’Brien

Head of Strategy & International Relations

TEAGASC

Introduction

• Ireland is a longstanding, committed supporter of

using agricultural development to lift people out of

hunger and poverty by providing robust livelihoods in

the developing world • Ireland’s policy for international development,

‘One World, One Future’ (2013), prioritises the reduction

of hunger and the promotion of sustainable and

inclusive growth to tackle food insecurity• Support for improving the productivity of

smallholder agriculture to combat hunger is a

central priority of the policy

Irish Aid

• Irish Aid is the Government’s official aid programme

administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs

and Trade, to address poverty and hunger in some

of the poorest countries in the world• Irish Aid works through national agriculture systems

in partner countries in a multi-sectoral approach, and

globally in cooperation with other development partners

• Three Goals: Policy for international development – an intrinsic part of Ireland’s foreign policy – will seek to achieve three goals:

• Reduced hunger, stronger resilience• Sustainable development, inclusive economic growth• Better governance, human rights and aaccountability

Ireland’s Development VisionA sustainable and just world, where people are empowered to overcome poverty and hunger and fully realise their rights and potential

Irish Aid Programme Priorities

• Six priority areas for action:

• Global hunger• Fragile states• Climate change and development• Trade and economic growth• Essential services• Human rights and accountability

Irish Aid Whole- of -Government Approach

• The policy emphasises the need for a whole-of-government approach with other Irish institutions

• to achieve greater policy coherence behind Ireland’s development objectives

• to allow Irish best practice and expertise to be marshalled for putting learning and evidence into use

• Reflected in MoUs with a number of Irish State organisations

Research-A Priority

• Irish Aid’s policy is underpinned by relevant and credible research and evidence• New Research Strategy (2015)• Research Themes:

• Global Hunger• Fragile States and Situations• Climate Change and Development• Trade and Economic Growth• Essential Services

• Research policy aims to forge greater linkages among global and local research organisations and donors (such as Teagasc, universities, national programmes in developing countries, CGIAR and the private sector)

• To engage in research that will advance global food security goals, focusing the comparative advantages of each group on addressing specific constraints

Irish Aid and Teagasc

• The partnership between Irish Aid and Teagasc is based on the principle that international public goods –type knowledge can lead to increased agriculture productivity both in Ireland and developing countries

• All such knowledge will be widely applicable even though regional adaptation of principles will be necessary

Teagasc

• Teagasc• Statutory responsibility for provision of Research, Education and

Extension

services to the Irish agri-food sector and Bioeconomy• Traditionally has engaged in International Agricultural Development activities• Withdrew from these activities in 1990s as aid programmes downgraded

support for

Agriculture• Renewed emphasis on role of Agriculture in tackling food and nutrition security and

overall economic development• Teagasc re-engages

The Global Context

• A productive and efficient

food and agricultural sector

Is central for sustainable

economic growth and wealth

creation, food and nutrition

security, as well as for political

stability • Investment in science and technology is

essential for agricultural transformation • Many underdeveloped countries have national agricultural

science and technology systems that are limited in terms of their capacity to

effectively deliver relevant and innovative science for agriculture • To ensure that agricultural investments are sustainable and country-led,

agricultural capacity development is essential on farms and in the private sector,

within producer organizations, in research and extension institutions and in

government agencies

Ireland’s ability to assist

The Irish experience and expertise can assist countries in strengthening their research and technology transfer institutions by cultivating individuals with the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to engage in agricultural development

But, each country must itself take responsibility for its own development needs

Rationale

• Ireland is not immune to the impacts of food insecurity: we cannot take our own long-term food security for granted

• We cannot abdicate our responsibilities as a nation to contribute to meeting

the food security needs of poorer countries unable, on their own, to raise their own food output

• Accordingly, the issues of food security and sustainability now feature prominently on the national agricultural agenda and Ireland’s overseas aid programme prioritises hunger reduction

• The “internationalization of Irish agri-food expertise” and agri-food business is an explicit implementation strand of the Food Harvest 2020 Strategy

• There is a clear and growing expectation at national policy level that Teagasc and other State agencies should use their expertise in support of the national overseas development programme

• Teagasc has emphasized the need to consider the challenges to Irish agriculture within the context of the global challenges in relation to food security and climate change

.

Teagasc international strategy

Engagement must be:• Aligned with Teagasc’s own Statement of Strategy, which describes global food

security as a “Grand Challenge”, and one of the central drivers of the national policy context

• Aligned with, and feed into Irish Aid’s development programme on eradication of hunger and DAFM’s strategy on the internationalisation of agricultural services

• Targeted to one or more of the nine programme countries of Irish Aid, i.e. Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Timor Leste, Uganda, Vietnam and Zambia

• Based on partnership with international research organizations, such as the CGIAR

Capacity building as key strategy

• Focus is on capacity building in local research, knowledge transfer and development in partner countries:

• Provision of technical and operational expertise through short-term visits to partner countries

• Short-term staff training at Teagasc centres• Technical training, study visits• Exchange programmes• Opportunities for international students to participate in Teagasc

postgraduate training programmes• Joint research projects

Benefits to Teagasc

• Provide a solid basis to substantiate Teagasc’s aspiration to be a leader in global agricultural research and knowledge transfer

• Ensure that we “know what we are talking about” at high-end research policy level

• Provide new international linkages with significant international research and knowledge transfer organizations

• Provide new opportunities for staff development• Make Teagasc an attractive partner for future collaborative research and

knowledge transfer initiatives on development issues and provide access to new research funding streams

• Showcase Teagasc as a progressive organization that a) dovetails its expertise

efficiently with that of other government organizations and b) meets the

expectations of corporate social responsibility

Irish Aid Criteria for Engagement

Through this collaboration, Irish Aid aims to improve its ability to realise the objectives of reducing hunger and under-nutrition. Activities will focus on:

• Strengthening partnerships in Ireland to develop the skills and experience base available to the development cooperation programme

• Developing linkages between Irish agricultural science expertise and CGIAR

• Encouraging relationships between Teagasc and similar institutions in partner countries to harness transferable and relevant Irish learning and evidence from local experience and practice for development benefits

• Achieving coherence across Government in supporting Ireland’s development policy objectives

Criteria for Teagasc Engagement

The five criteria determining Teagasc engagement in development initiatives are:• Alignment with Irish Aid programme’s hunger agenda • Focus on Irish Aid programme’s key partner countries• Development of local capacity in research and knowledge transfer• Partnership – in which Teagasc contributes its own specific expertise• Alignment with the Teagasc Statement of Strategy

Areas of Collaboration

The envisaged areas of collaboration are:• Scientific technical advice for CGIAR and EIARD meetings• Technical support and advice to Irish Aid programme engagement in

agricultural extension services in Tanzania• Capacity building relationships with national agricultural research and

knowledge transfer institutions in Irish Aid Key Partner Countries and in other Partner Countries

• Identification of possible areas in which the Irish agricultural research sector can become involved with CGIAR research centres and research programmes and take steps to realise such potential linkages

• Joint research programmes with CGIAR and NARIs

Administration of the MoU

The implementation of the MoU will be monitored as follows: • Assigned officials will meet every six months as a small joint steering committee

to manage the partnership; to plan, review and evaluate progress in areas of joint interest and activity; and to review the operation of the MoU

• The Director General of Irish Aid and the Director of Teagasc, or alternates, will meet yearly to monitor implementation of the MoU

• A formal review of the partnership will be undertaken by the end of the third quarter of 2016, with the involvement of the Director General of Irish Aid and the Director of Teagasc