FARA Briefs
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Item Agribusiness Learning Alliance (ABLA) toolkit: For business development in agriculture research for development(FARA, 2024) FARAThe toolkit explains how Agribusiness Learning Alliances build on innovation platforms to drive commercialization of agricultural research technologies, with emphasis on women, youth and persons with disability. It introduces agricultural innovation systems and the IP concept, then sets out the three steps for establishing an ABLA (connect, co-create, capacity). Further chapters cover business development services in agriculture; policy, regulation and standards; and operational guiding principles such as partnerships, multidisciplinary teams, and planning, monitoring, evaluation and learning. It closes with a checklist for planning interventions along a value chain node.Item Scaling the delivery of digital agriculture tools to enhance adaptation to a changing climate: Experiences and lessons learned from Uganda(ASARECA, FARA, 2025-08) Okonya, Joshua Sikhu; Luzobe, Beatrice; Antwi, Kwaku DeiThis brief presents lessons from the AIRTEA DC4FC project, which trained and equipped ten youth digital connectors to provide fee-based, climate-smart advisory services, inputs and market links to nearly 10,000 members of two innovation platforms in Luweero and Bugiri. Connectors mainly use WhatsApp, which works for non-literate members through audio and video, to offer subsidized weather-index insurance, solar irrigation, drought-tolerant seed, soil testing, machinery hire, post-harvest services and produce aggregation. Moderation by not-for-profit organizations builds trust, and assured off-take raises production. Barriers include distrust of pre-payment, reluctance to pay for services, and side-selling against contracts. Policy recommendations cover digital literacy for women and people over 35, phones on credit, rural connectivity, zero-rated agricultural content, ROI models for private extension, seed capital for youth agritech, and tax incentives.Item Digital Connection for Farming Communities (Uganda)(AFAAS, 2025) AFAAS, UFAASThe brief reports a district policy dialogue and innovation platform needs assessment held in Luwero and Bugiri with civil servants, politicians, technical staff, farmers, farmer organizations and financial institutions. Participants reviewed national policies relevant to digital extension, including the National Strategy for Youth Employment (2017), the ICT Policy (2014), the MAAIF ICT strategy for agriculture (2019–2023) and Vision 2040, and found that they support the digital connectors model. Uptake of e-extension remains low because of the cost of devices, internet and electricity, poor rural networks, limited digital skills and weak collaboration between NGOs, government and research. Recommendations include capacity building for digital connectors and farmers, cheaper rural electricity, subsidized ICT devices and digitally accessed inputs, lower taxes on internet services, digital hubs and multi-stakeholder platforms.Item Harnessing multi-stakeholder innovation platforms for knowledge transfer and aquaculture value chain development in Uganda(Abi ZARDI, 2025) Abi Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Abi ZARDI), National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO)Aquaculture supplies 22% of Uganda's fish production but is held back by poor access to extension, inputs, post-harvest facilities and markets, and by disease and weak value-chain coordination. The project surveyed aquaculture stakeholders across Uganda's nine agro-ecological zones and set up nine zonal innovation platforms and one national platform linking farmers, hatchery operators, traders, extension workers, researchers, input suppliers, local leaders and financial institutions. Farmers ranked high feed cost and poor feed quality as their main constraint; extension officers cited under-funding, and financial institutions cited poor farm records. The brief recommends standardized record-keeping tools promoted by MAAIF, public–private partnerships for extension and research, training on quality feed and fingerling production (including black soldier fly as a fishmeal substitute), and farmer awareness through extension and social networks.Item Strengthening Agriculture Extension and Advisory Service Delivery in Murang'a County(AFAAS, 2023) Mwangi, Gitika Peter; Aluda, Elizabeth; Makokha, OscarAgriculture accounts for about 60% of Murang'a County's economic activity and 70% of local employment, yet the extension officer-to-farmer ratio stands at 1:7,950 and is expected to worsen as staff retire. The brief draws on secondary data, a literature review, stakeholder mapping and a county policy dialogue. It reviews extension approaches used since devolution, the challenges facing women and youth (finance, information, land), and youth unemployment of 37%. It recommends a participatory county digitalization policy defining the role of digital connectors, a county agricultural data management policy, a clearer "one ward, one cooperative" policy that places agripreneurs in public extension, digital credit schemes for farmers, and private-sector partnerships for digital connectors.Item Enhancing climate adaptation through the digital connectors model for agricultural extension in Uganda(ASARECA, 2026-01) Okonya, Joshua Sikhu (ASARECA); BenBella, Bashir (AFAAS); Antwi, Kwaku Dei (FARA)Uganda's public extension worker-to-farmer ratio of about 1:1,800, against an FAO benchmark of 1:500, cannot support uptake of knowledge-intensive climate-smart technologies, innovations, management practices and services (TIMPS). Drawing on the AIRTEA DC4FC project, which trained nine youth digital connectors serving nearly 10,000 members of the ZAABTA (Luweero) and BAIDA (Bugiri) innovation platforms, the brief shows that face-to-face training combined with phones raises access to and demand for climate-smart TIMPS. A 5% commission from input companies sustains connectors' work with women and youth farmers. Barriers include low trust in pre-payment models, farmers' reluctance to pay for advice, and the lack of return-on-investment models for extension. Recommendations cover digital literacy, phone and connectivity costs, a shared digital content repository, ROI models, seed capital for youth agritech, tax incentives, and accreditation of digital connectors within MAAIF/UFAAS.Item Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Action Plan: 2024–2034(AUC, 2024-06) African Union CommissionThe Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Action Plan: 2024–2034 provides a continental framework for improving soil health, fertilizer access, affordability and efficiency, and sustainable agricultural productivity across Africa. Developed in the context of the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit held in Nairobi, Kenya, in May 2024, the Action Plan builds on previous continental commitments, including the 2006 Abuja Declaration, and responds to persistent challenges of soil degradation, nutrient depletion, low agricultural productivity, food insecurity, climate change and vulnerability to external fertilizer market shocks. The Action Plan adopts an integrated soil fertility management perspective that combines efficient mineral and organic fertilizers with improved seeds, water-use efficiency, sustainable soil management and other complementary interventions. Its overall goal is for African soils to become healthier and sustainably contribute to agricultural growth and environmental resilience. The framework is organised around four principal outcomes: strengthened policies, investment, finance and markets; improved access to and affordability of fertilizers; greater efficiency, resilience and sustainable use of fertilizer inputs alongside enhanced soil health interventions; and strengthened institutional and human capacity for sustainable soil health and fertilizer management.Item Letter of Agreement between the African Union Soil Observatory (AUSO) Horizon Europe Project and the Soil Health Monitoring and Information Systems for Sustainable Soil Management in the Mediterranean Region (SOILS4MED) PRIMA Project(FARA, 2026-05) FARA, AUSO, Soils4Med, UNISS, EUThis Letter of Agreement (LoA) formalizes collaboration between the African Union Soil Observatory (AUSO) Horizon Europe Project and the SOILS4MED PRIMA Project on knowledge exchange, soil health monitoring, soil information systems, sustainable land management, and capacity building. The agreement establishes a framework for cooperation between African and Mediterranean institutions working to improve soil health governance, food security, and climate resilience. The agreement outlines areas of collaboration including joint research initiatives, exchange of scientific information, organization of conferences and training programs, strengthening National Soil Information Systems (NSIS) in Africa, policy engagement, and development of soil health indicators and monitoring methodologies. The LoA further defines mechanisms for intellectual property management, collaborative agreements, data sharing, acknowledgment procedures, confidentiality requirements, and governance arrangements supporting long-term cooperation between the two projects. Annex I provides a detailed framework governing background intellectual property, access rights, use conditions, and acknowledgment requirements for datasets, methodologies, soil information system architectures, mapping tools, and training materials exchanged under the collaboration.Item Foresight4Food Criteria to Assess High-Quality Food Systems Foresight in Africa(Foresight4Food, 2026-02-26) Foresight4Food, FARA, ECI OxfordThe Foresight4Food Criteria for High Quality Guide (February 2026) provides a structured framework outlining standards and benchmarks for defining, assessing, and ensuring high-quality outputs, processes, or initiatives under the Foresight4Food framework. The guide establishes clear criteria intended to promote consistency, rigor, transparency, and accountability. It serves as a reference tool for practitioners, reviewers, implementing partners, and institutional stakeholders seeking to align projects or interventions with recognized quality standards. The document articulates evaluative dimensions, operational guidance, and recommended indicators to support implementation, monitoring, and continuous improvement.Item Sustainable Land Management in Sub-Saharan Africa 2025 Highlights Blog(Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), 2026-01) INTERFACES ProjectThis current blog is the annual overview of highlights from 2025 and gives an outlook to upcoming activities for 2026 of the regional projects COINS, DecLaRe, InfoRange and Minodu and the accompanying project INTERFACES from the BMFTR-funded consortium for “Sustainable Land Management in Sub-Saharan Africa: Improving livelihoods through local research”.