Given the recent food price crisis, ARD Days 2011 will have the theme of Understanding Volatility and Managing Risk. The days will begin March 22 in the Preston Auditorium with the opening session titled Securing Food in a Volatile Climate. Opening remarks will be made by Inger Andersen, SDN Vice President, followed by a presentation from Juergen Voegele, ARD Director, on The State of Agriculture and Development, and a moderated interactive conversation among the audience. Day 1's afternoon session titled, Mainstreaming Innovative Research and Practice, will include an interactive discussion with practitioners on research for development and sharing experiences from practice.
The following days will feature sessions designed by regions and partners and will focus on: innovation, south-south collaboration; CDD; signature projects and non-traditional approaches to addressing risk and vulnerability. This sessions will enable an interactive discussion with country office staff.
Learning events will be available to staff on the afternoon of Days 2 and 3, March 23 and 24. The following learning events will be held:
Agriculture Sector Public Expenditure Reviews Clinic: "Do You Know How the Governments You Work With Spend Money on Agriculture?"
Climate Smart Agriculture
Introduction to Quantitative Risk Analysis in Agriculture & Rural Sector Project Appraisal
Index Based Weather insurance: Lessons learned, and Applications
Please see detailed program of sessions of World Bank ARD Days 2011 below, or click here for a .pdf version.
10:00 - 12:00 International food prices are spiking again for the second time in three years, igniting concerns about a repeat of 2008 food price crisis and its consequences for the poor. Current levels of price volatitlity are similar to those experienced in the 1970s. Price increases are now more widespread acorss commoditites than they were in 2008 and they are more colsely related to weather-related production shortfalls.
Interactive Discussion: Invited Panelists and Participants - in the Preston, on V/C and Adobe Connect - will discuss the impact of recent food price volatility and implications for action. Includes screeing of two short videos on The Global Food Crisis Response Program and The Global Agriculture and Food Security Program. » Moderator: Marc Sadler, Team Leader, Agriculture Risk Management, Agriculture and Rural Development Deparment, World Bank
Panelists:
Bunge North America: Thomas J. Erickson, Vice President, Government & Industry Affairs
International Fund for Agricultural Development - the Togo Example: Mohamed Tounessi, Country Program Manager
World Food Programme: Allan Jury, Director, US Relations Office
Food and Agriculture Organization: Daniel Gustafson, Director, Liaison Office for North America
Originate from HQ V/C Connections to HQ and COs; Live Webcast; Adobe Connect Confirmed VC sites:FAO (Rome), China, Vietnam, Mozambique
12:00 - 2:00
Lunch Break
2:30 - 5:30
Mainstreaming Innovative Research and Practice
2:30 - 3:45 Part I:Research for Development
The Research for Development session will discuss the importance of research for development (R4D) and the partnerships needed for linking research with development - at global, regional or country level - to address food security, rural growth and poverty reduction targets. It further discusses the main means, such as scaling up of technology transfer, strengthened agricultural services, etc., to achieve these targets, partnerships and examples, and the 'optimal' role or contribution of different actors in achieving these targets.
» Chair: Eija Pehu, Science Adviser, Agriculture and Rural Development Deparment, World Bank
The Experience from Practice session will focus on practical experience, the 'how to' arising from a number of cases. The session begins with a framework presentation on 'Scaling Up as a Common Agenda', i.e., how to systematically replicate, adapt, and expand successful interventions (including - but not limited to - research and technology transfer to reach more beneficiaries and meet diverse targets). The session futher examines the experience of Bank interventions. Panelists will discuss the main rationales and entry points for the interventions and the instruments used to deliver results and lessons about preconditions, sequencing, and piolting in the scaling up process.
» Chair: Riikka Rahjalahti, Senior Agricultural Specialist, Agriculture and Rural Development Deparment, World Bank
Scaling Up - Concepts, Issues and Institutional Internalization:
IGNITE! Innovations and Challenges in Agriculture and Rural Development East Asia and the Pacific Region
Impressions from Patrick Labaste
Session will highlight ARD portfolio activities in EAP region. Fast-paced, focused talks presenting the essence and main results of ARD analytical work and investment activities in EAP. The presentation will cover innovations, stories of success and failture, lessons learned and challenges.
Originate from HQ V/C Connections to HQ and COs; Live Webcast; Adobe Connect Confirmed VC sites:Solomon Islands, Australia, Vietnam, Philippines, Cambodia, China, Indonesia
9:30 - 11:30
South-South Cooperation for Agriculture Innovation Latin America an the Caribbean and Africa Regions
Impressions from Willem Janssen
The session will look at tthe Africa-Brazil Innovation Marketplace as an opportunity for promoting innovation, exchanging knowledge, and increasing technical cooperation between regions. The presenters from Embrapa will discuss how the marketplace concept was put toghter and brougt to life, the challenges of its implementation, and the key factors for making it successful. The Tanzania presentation will discuss the progress in one specific partnership that was funded through the Marketplace. The presenter from FARA will talk about the expected results and impact and the future opportunites with the Africa-Brazil Marketplace.
Chair:Tijan Sallah, Manager, Africa Capacity Development and Partnership (AFRCP)
Speakers:
Adewale Adekunle, First Secretary, FARA (Ghana)
Flora Ismail, Research, University of Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania)
Originate from HQ V/C Connections to HQ and COs; Live Webcast; Adobe Connect Confirmed VC sites: Tanzania, Nigeria, Mozambique, VC sites TBC: EMBRAPA (Brazil), FARA (Ghana)
12:30 - 2:30
Productive Rural CDD: Challenges to Promote Community Driven Pro-poor Income Generating Activities in Rural Areas Middle East and North Africa Region
Impressions from Ayat Soliman and Jorge Munoz
Session will identify key institutional challenges to be addressed when promoting pro poor community driven income generating activities in rural areas. The following initiatives will be discussed: The National Human Development Initiative in Morocco; The Rainfed Agriculture and Livestock project in Yemen; The Project Services Agricole et Organisation de Producteur (PSAOP) in Senegal; and two projects from LAC (Brazil and Haiti).
Chair:Marie Helene Collion, Lead Agriculturist, LCSAR
Originate from HQ V/C Connections to HQ and COs; Live Webcast; Adobe Connect Confirmed VC sites: Morocco, Yemen
All training sessions will be videotaped and presented through PEP
2:00 - 6:00
Training Session Climate Smart Agriculture MC C1-200 [REGISTER HERE]
Addressing climate change and achieving sustainability in the global food system are dual imperatives. Nothing less is required than a redesign of the whole food system to bring sustainability to the fore. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) has emerged as a vital approach for addressing the twin development challenges of food security and climate change. CSA seeks to sustainably increase agricultural productivity, increase agro-ecosystem resilience (adaptation) to climate change, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by agricultural production systems and enhance the achievement of national food security and development goals. The CSA transition requires transformations in the management of soil, water and genetic resources to ensure higher productivity. There is a need for innovative techniques of making agriculture climate-resilient, whereas resource managers require fast, reliable and efficient tools to provide ex-ante estimations of the impact of agriculture and forestry development projects on GHG emissions and carbon sequestration.
The training is designed to enable participants to:
Understand the key elements of Climate-Smart Agriculture,
Identify the appropriate agricultural water management response measures for countries with risks of water shortage; and
Apply carbon accounting tool for assessing the carbon foot print of natural resources operation.
Training Session Agriculture Sector Public Expenditure Review Clinic: "Do You Know How the Governments You Work With Spend Money on Agriculture?" MC 5-100 [REGISTER HERE]
With the call by the 2008 World Development Report for ‘more and better’ spending in agriculture, the increased number of sectoral Public Expenditure Reviews (PERs) in recent years, and a greater appreciation of the usefulness of PERs for not only understanding how the governments we work with spend money on agriculture, but also for underpinning our lending and clients' investments, ARD in collaboration with AFTAR, PREM, and the Rural Policy Thematic Group offers the AgPER Clinic.
The Clinic is intended to introduce the new AgPER Toolkit on various types of PERs, methodologies, and checklist of issues and options; share the perspectives of PREM staff on sectoral PERs; and have a panel discussion of sector practitioners reflecting on their PER experiences and on directions of future AgPERs.
Is Bigger Better? Signature Projects and their Implications for the Way We do Business South Asia Region
Impressions from Mark Cackler
Over the last year, the South Asia Region (SAR)/Sustainable Development Department has supported and received Board approval for two very large investment projects of over one billion dollars called "Signature Projects." At present, two more signature projects are in very advanced stages of preparation with additional project in the pipeline. The objective of the session will be to critically assess the significance of this approach in the delivery of World Bank programs. The panel will discuss the reason for undertaking such large operations, the risks as well as benefist in adopting such a strategy, and share lessons learnt that may be of importance to other regions.
Originate from HQ V/C Connections to HQ and COs; Live Webcast; Adobe Connect Confirmed VC sites: Pakistan, Afghanistan, India
10:30 - 12:30
Non-traditional Approaches to Addressing Risk and Vulnerability in Agriculture Europe and Central Asia Region Session
Impressions from William Sutton
Session will share with participants new developments in analyzing climate change impacts on agriculture and innovative ways to mitigate these, including the role of sustainable water management. Discussion of country-specific climate resilience & vulnerability assessments in agriculture; innovative approaches to addressing production risk and vulnerability in agricultural production (revolving community seed funds; cellphone based weather forecasting systems funded by innovation grants; field based livestock health and vaccination data collection systems); and community-based mitigation strategies (public employment in irrigation rehabilitation).
Chair: Dina Umali-Deininger, Sector Manager, ECSS1
Originate from HQ V/C Connections to HQ and COs; Live Webcast; Adobe Connect Confirmed VC sites: Albania, Romania, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan
1:00 - 2:00
Closing Plenary Brief reports from sessions, Summing up & Closing Remarks Mark Cackler, Sector Manager, Agriculture and Rural Development Department, World Bank
All training sessions will be videotaped and presented through PEP
2:30 - 5:00
Training Session Introduction to Quantitative Risk Analysis in Agriculture & Rural Sector Project Appraisal MC 8-100 [REGISTER HERE]
The purpose of investment appraisal is to assess the economic prospects of a proposed investment project. It constitutes a set of methods for calculating the expected and other returns based on forecasts of many, often interrelated, project variables. Risk derives from the inevitable uncertainty in many project variables. Risk analysis can be a useful tool in extending the depth of project appraisal and enhancing the investment decision. The event will cover evaluation of project risk, including identification and understanding the nature of uncertainty surrounding key project variables and learning the tools and methods to process risk implications for the value of a project. Practical examples of risk analysis are included. Risk Analyzer software and an E-learning on Quantitative Risk Analysis in Agriculture Projects will be introduced.
2:30 - 5:00
Training Session Index Based Weather Insurance: Introduction, Lessons Learned, and Applications MC 10-100 [REGISTER HERE]
For the past decade, the World Bank’s Agricultural Risk Management Team (ARMT) has explored the feasibility and application of market-based measures to manage select agricultural risks in developing countries. While ARMT has looked at a variety of different risks within the agricultural supply chain, it has spent significant time exploring the potential for and impacts of index based weather risk management programs. Most of these programs have been piloting the use of index-based insurance, a new tool that addresses some of the limitations of traditional crop insurance programs. ARMT is in the process of sharing with the wider development community the lessons of its research and development on index insurance. In parallel ARMT is working to mainstream weather risk management issues into broader World Bank projects and to facilitate support to integrated risk management approaches.
As part of this effort to provide training and share experiences on utilizing index based weather insurance, ARMT will offer a session on this topic for Bank staff as part of ARD Days 2011. This session will provide a basic overview of index based weather insurance, highlight the appropriate uses for these types of programs, and discuss the lessons learned from the work that has been carried out so far on the topic. In summary, this session will:
Provide an overview of index based weather risk management instruments and current applications.
Highlight lessons learned from the work that has been carried out on the topic by the World Bank and other organizations.
Provide guidance for TTL's in determining if index based weather insurance is an appropriate instrument for their projects.
Given the recent food price crisis, ARD Days 2011 will have the theme of 
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