From February 5 to 9, 2024, in Dakar, Senegal, CORAF organized a regional meeting for the evaluation, planning and capacity building of staff managing agricultural technology parks and community immersion hubs. Delegates from eight West and Central African countries attended the meeting. The main objective was to take stock of 2023 activities and plan 2024 actions for the establishment of agricultural technology parks, community immersion centers. The workshop also strengthened the capacities of teams in financial reporting, monitoring and evaluation and communication.
A total of thirty-seven (37) participants, representing countries implementing the West Africa Food System Resilience Program (FSRP), TARSPro project (Scaling Up Agricultural Technologies and Innovations for Increasing the Resilience of Production Systems and Family Farms in West and Central Africa) and iREACH project (Innovation, Research, Extension and Advisory Coordination Hub (iREACH) took part in the workshop.
A session to develop and revise the Annual Work Plans and Budget (AWPB) for 2024 has been organised, aiming to align the strategic objectives with the real needs of local communities and market trends. This crucial step allowed participants to define clear and achievable targets for 2024, taking into account lessons learned from previous years.
Participants also benefited from capacity-building sessions on M&E and communication. These sessions deepened their knowledge and skills in the effective management of agricultural technology parks, focusing on the collection of accurate data, communication and visibility and measuring the impact of their interventions.
The meeting was an opportunity for participants to share best practices, exchange knowledge on innovative agricultural technologies and discuss communication approaches to increase the visibility of agricultural technology parks and community immersion hubs. For the actors involved, this initiative represented a crucial opportunity to exchange knowledge, discuss best practices and collaborate to strengthen actions for sustainable agricultural development.