This brochure is on the Virtual Extension and Research Information and Communication Network (VERCON), a conceptual model that any country can use and adapt to improve access to agricultural information and knowledge sharing and to strengthen the linkages between rural institutions and individuals, using information and communication technologies.

As part of the Capacity Development for Agricultural Innovation System Project (CDAIS) a Policy Dialogue process is being implemented in the 8 pilot countries.

The purposes of the Policy Dialogue is to contribute to the improvement of the process of development or implementation of policies that promote agricultural innovation through improved dialogue and interaction among key stakeholders and, ultimately to contribute to the enhancement of the enabling environment for agricultural innovation.  

This course aims to guide actors in member countries in effectively enhancing country capacity and to ensure that programmes and projects lead to truly effective and sustainable change. It consolidates existing knowledge, tools and lessons learned from FAO’s work.

This document aims to guide a small team tasked to assess the capacity for agricultural innovation in a multi-stakeholder context. The context might be an actual or potential “innovation platform” such as the three commodity-based platforms selected for the piloting capacity assessment methods, or it might be a project or programme that is more generally focused on strengthening of innovation within a subsector of agriculture within a country, such as livestock or horticulture.

This report provides an overview of the Tropical Agriculture Platform (TAP) since its inception in 2012, when it was officially launched by FAO at the first G20 Meeting of Agriculture Chief Scientists (MACS) in September 2012 in Mexico, until December 2017. The G20 Agriculture Deputies agreed on this stock taking exercise that started under the 2018 Argentinian G20 Presidency.

Purposes of the exercise are the following:

This document is intended to serve as a resource for assessing capacity needs in a project or programme. A capacity needs assessment (CNA) is a process for identifying a project’s perceptions (through staff, partners and stakeholders) on various capacity areas that impact the work they do. The process helps identify challenges and opportunities for enhancing key skills thereby enhancing the project’s ability to achieve its objectives. The overall goal of a CNA is to determine the gap between required and existing capacities.