The purpose of Forest, Trees, and Agroforestry (FTA) Capacity Development is “to have capable forestry, agroforestry and sustainable land use research and development organizations, individuals, institutions and systems contributing to reducing poverty while leading to the sustainable use of land, forests, and trees…Organizational capacities remain one of the most common bottlenecks in both research and development organizations…[especially] in the least developed countries.” The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) is one of 15 research programs of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), “a global partnership that unites organizations engaged in research for a food secure future.”
The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in partnership with Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD), Bioversity International, the International Organization for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR), Tropenbos International, Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza, CATIE), and the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). The report proposes an educational and learning system by which the role that ought to be played by various countries to develop FTA capacity can be achieved.
“Capacity Development in forestry, trees and agroforestry may include formal (basic and higher) education delivered directly or through distance learning, experiential or activity-based learning (internships and other types of on-job learning); learning imparted through advisory and extension services; and learning through partnerships, knowledge networks and leadership development for individuals and organizations to effect change and to strengthen capabilities for innovation, discovery, and delivery.”
“FTA encourages and facilitates the development of policy seminars and engagement in new multi-stakeholder platforms (MSPs). These involve multiple actors — government, researchers, NGOs, the private sector, and civil society — with the aim of developing new ways to develop capacities and contribute to FTA’s mission. At the FTA “Cool Water” symposium in 2017, for example, researchers from many organizations and scientific backgrounds present scientific findings and got feedback on their work. This model could be adapted and used at the national level in some countries.”
Note: This seems to be an interim report of an on-going process initiated and managed by The CIFOR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA) claims to be “the world’s largest research for the development program to enhance the role of forests, trees and agroforestry in sustainable development and food security and to address climate change.” There are quite a few organizations involved in this effort and the overarching entity, CGIAR seems to have a variety of useful publications, e.g., “A stochastic simulation model of African swine fever transmission in domestic pig farms in the Red River Delta region in Vietnam”. However, the use of multiple acronyms and the absence of specificity regarding what FTA capacity is being developed to do detracts from the reporter utility for the person who is not already relatively familiar with the field.
