Inception and Priority-Setting Workshop for the Innovative Agricultural Research Initiative (iAGRI)

The workshop aimed to assist agricultural knowledge-generating organizations in Tanzania to be at the forefront of transforming the country's agricultural sector. Key stakeholders from Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security, and Cooperatives (MAFC), and the private sector attended the workshop. The workshop focused on the current state of agricultural training and research in Tanzania and identified capacity gaps of SUA and MAFC. A report, Assessment of Needs for Training, Collaborative Research, and Institutional Capacity Building for Agricultural Development and Food Security in Tanzania, was commissioned by iAGRI. The report provided a factual foundation for workshop participants to consider and set priorities for the training, research, and capacity-building activities to be undertaken by iAGRI over the next five years. The needs assessment team began the workshop with an analysis of food demand changes and a projection of demand shifts likely to take place over the next 40 years. Assessments of training and research needs at SUA and MAFC were then presented. Participants actively participated in a lively discussion of the study team findings, and ultimately, they worked together to rank topics for degree training and for research. These priorities will serve as guidelines for the iAGRI management team as it collaborates with SUA, MAFC, and the private sector to plan project activities. The workshop was officially opened by Dr. Fidelis Myaka, Director of Research and Development, MAFC, on behalf of Mr. Mohamed Muya, the Permanent Secretary, MAFC. It was chaired by Prof. Bendantunguka Tiisekwa, Dean Faculty of Agriculture, SUA, and facilitated by Mr. Oziniel Thomas Kibwana, Senior Lecturer, Moshi University College of Cooperative and Business Studies (MUCCoBS). David Kraybill and Isaac Minde, Project Director and Deputy Project Director, iAGRI respectively, together with members of OSUC, actively participated in the planning and constant review of the process and progress of the workshop. The workshop was attended by participants from MAFC, SUA, OSUC, USAID Dar es Salaam, and one participant from the private sector. The participants included senior officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security, and Cooperatives, Sokoine University of Agriculture, and the Ohio State University Consortium. The workshop provided an opportunity for a wide range of stakeholders to review, discuss, and arrive at a consensus on the gap analysis and to agree on priority areas for future intervention. The iAGRI partnership is a collaboration between Tanzanian institutions and the Ohio State University Consortium, which includes six US land grant universities: Ohio State University, Michigan State University, Virginia Tech, University of Florida, Tuskegee University, and Iowa State University. iAGRI is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/Tanzania as part of its Feed the Future (FtF) program. The workshop was a follow-up step to the iAGRI Needs Assessment (NA) study, which established the current situation in MAFC and SUA in terms of training of staff and agricultural research, assessed the gaps between the current situation and the desired future situation, and prioritized the gaps in order to guide future iAGRI project interventions given resource limitations.