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Strengthening African Institutions to
Promote
Agricultural Production and Food Security
ASARECA is a regional, non-political organization
that brings together national agricultural research institutes
(NARIs) from ten east and central African countries--Burundi,
DROC (Congo), Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda,
Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. The Directors of the 10 NARIs
make up the ASARECA Committee of Directors and set policy,
approve budget and staff recruitment for ASARECA and coordinate
research on the national level in order to reduce unessential
duplication.
Over the past five years, REDSO/ESA has provided
support for the accounting and financial reporting system
and for development of procurement policies and procurement.
Both operations have now been certified as meeting USAID requirements
for managing grant financing. In addition, USAID helped ASARECA
complete a regional program strategy that prioritized major
constraints to agricultural productivity in the region. The
strategy was reviewed and adopted by a stakeholder forum that
included both public and private sector representatives from
the region. REDSO/ESA is currently supporting the development
of a newly established program planning, monitoring and evaluation
unit.
This support for institutional strengthening
has contributed to ASARECA’s ability to attract support from
a broader donor community with greater resources than have
been available from REDSO/ESA, as exemplified by a recent
US$30 million grant from the EU.
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