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Networking And Partnership

ACT embraces principal of mutual collaboration, partnership and sharing of information on Conservation Agriculture.

ACT stimulates and facilitates coalition building and partnerships on and about CA and SAM development and promotion across sector, disciplines and geographical orientations. ACT is committed to the principles of mutual collaboration, partnerships and sharing of information and knowledge on sustainable natural resource management and drawing on synergies and complementarities.

The successful implementation of this technical thematic areas of focus depends largely on the establishment and operationalization of effective and efficient network management and support functions at its Headquarters and replicate it at sub-regional offices. In view of this and considering the need to be effective and efficient, ACT has developed and adopted a style of leadership and management which allows a diverse group of highly trained and potentially creative individuals to work individually and collectively to achieve the Network and programme goals and objectives. In order to contribute significantly to the attainment of the network’s purpose, the network management and support functions thematic area focuses on the following intervention strategies:

  • Strengthening the Network financial resources mobilization and management.
  • Improvement of the administration and procurement services, procedures and processes.
  • Strengthening the human resource development and management.
  • Strengthening Network corporate governance systems, processes and services.
Networking helps ACT in achieving the main objectives of:

ACT works closely with local and international development players, it maintains links with national governments and government institutions, civil society organizations (CSOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Faith Based organization (FBO) academia, Private sectors (equipment manufacturers and input suppliers) and development partners.

  • Capacity building (Training of extension officers, researchers, policy makers and farmers)
  • Promotion of Conservation Agriculture technologies for increased understanding at field and policy level
  • ACT organizes regional stakeholders meetings, workshops and sensitization events with the purpose of sharing knowledge information in areas of Conservation Agriculture technologies and natural resource management
  • Contributing to the development of policies aimed at scaling out Conservation Agriculture, and
  • Disseminating research findings and outputs

As part of our networking activities, ACT is a member of Conservation Agriculture Regional Working Group (CARWG) for Eastern and Southern Africa countries under SADC, the secretariat support is currently provided by FAO-REOSA and ACT is the member of the technical advisory committee to the group, moreover ACT provides the secretariat platform for the Conservation Agriculture National Task Forces (CANTF) in Tanzania and Kenya respectively.

Other networking activities include:

  • Collaborative adaptive research projects (where we work closely with Research institutions in African countries
  • Publishing reports and scientific journals in collaboration with other Research for Development institutions
  • Hosting training, workshops, exchange visits, exhibitions and field days
  • Coordinating the formation of Communities of Practice (CoP) to strengthen knowledge and information sharing

Strengthening partnerships

We implement a considerable amount of our Research for Development agenda with development partners, using mechanisms that reinforce synergy and complementarities to achieve desired outcomes.

ACT partners with a number of international, national organizations in implementation and promotion of Conservation Agriculture across African countries. Partners includes the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) namely the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC), other partners includes regional, sub-regional and national organizations, among others we work with East Africa Farmers Federation (EAFF), Southern Africa Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU), Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM), Farming God’s Way, and Golden Valley Agricultural Research Trust (GART) and Conservation Farming Unit (CFU) particularly in the implementation of tripartite programme on climate smart agriculture projects for Eastern and Southern African regions.

Also ACT has managed to partner with a number of organizations, currently we work with Centre International de Recherche Development Sur L’elevage en Zone Subhumide (CIRDES), Soil Fertility Consortium for Southern Africa (SOFECSA), Sustainable Farming and Rice Cropping Systems Research Unit (SCRID), Centre de Coopration Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Development (CIRAD) , Wageningen University (WUR), Natural Resources Institute, Greenwich University (NRI), Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria (EMBRAPA) , and Yellow Window (YW) in implementation of Agro-Ecological Based Aggradation Conservation Agriculture (ABACO) project in Sub Saharan Africa. The project is supported by the European Commission.

Other collaborative projects include:

  • Small scale Conservation Agriculture Project (SCAP), ACT partner with World Agro forestry Project (ICRAF), CIRAD with financial support from International Fund Agriculture Development (IFAD) and Agence Franaise de Developpmement (AFD)
  • Conservation Agriculture with Tree (CAWT), implemented in partnership with World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) with financial support from Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA)
  • Promotion of Climate Smart Agriculture programmes for Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) with support from NORAD
  • ACT coordinated Implemented the Conservation Agriculture for Sustainable Agriculture, and Rural Development (CA SARD) project, in collaboration with the Ministry of agriculture in Kenya and Tanzania respectively.