 Technology development is not merely the diffusion, adoption and application of new products and services of a technological nature into the economy. It is an extremely complex topic and a number of elements and issues must be addressed during the 3-day "Developing Technology and Innovation in Africa: Focus on Agriculture and Food Industry" Forum:
Sectoral and country focus: The Forum will focus on a limited number of African countries (Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda) and the following technology sectors: agriculture, food industry, rural energy and physical environment including water. Also successful case studies from other countries and regions will be included to extract lessons learnt and possible ways forward. There will also an emphasis on how different sectoral initiatives can be linked effectively and the country specificities that create obstacles or provide opportunities? Actors: What is the role of the private sector in agricultural technology development, given its small size and limited investment capacity in many African countries but also its often dynamic role? What are the needs of entrepreneurs? What is the role of universities and research institutions in agricultural technology development and innovation? What can the public sector do, through its regulatory and investment policies, to help growth and productivity growth in agricultural and food industry? What is the role and capacity of the very large informal sector in this context? Education, skills, and capacity building: What are the capacity gaps and how can capacity building efforts be maximized to apply agricultural technology in countries with low educational attainment? Which aspects of educational and training systems can be strengthened to assist these efforts at the national and local levels? What tools and strategies have proven effective in elevating the skills needed in technology development and application? What are the key capacity building elements of effective science, technology and innovation initiatives? What are the success factors of efficient technology dissemination/transfer organizations? How can higher education institutions be mobilized to play a key role in technology development and in the national innovation system as such? Processes: What can we learn from analyzing case studies of successes and failures of how agricultural technologies and global knowledge are adapted to local use? What is the role of FDI and MNCs? How are relevant value chains developed and structured? How do local communities, business associations and research institutions contribute? What institutional structures are conducive or restrictive? What is the impact of socioeconomic and cultural factors in the adoption, adaptation, and application as well as development of technologies? The Forum will also focus on donors’ experience in managing aid projects on technology development and innovation in the four sectors. Partnerships: What are good examples of partnerships between users, enterprises, universities, business/farmer associations, and others to develop and adapt technologies to the African context? What are the successful examples of cross-country collaboration and partnerships on technology development?
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