ag share ii presentation fao

AgShare: Open Knowledge for Development

Funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Karen VignareMichigan State University

What is AgShare?

• What is Ag? – All aspects of African animal, plant, forestry, and

fisheries production and value networks.• What is Share?

– Action– Collaboration– Intentionally creating and sharing African

teaching, learning and research resources that are free, openly-licensed and effective.

The Original Scope of AgShare?

Resource PartnersCommunity-

Wide Partners

AgShare Vision

– To impact the welfare and health of farmers in Africa

– by empowering MSc students and graduates of African institutions

– to achieve change in agriculture – by leveraging African knowledge through OER

processes and products – that are integrated into universities and the global

knowledge pool.

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First Pilot Convening March 2010 Nairobi, Kenya

Pilots Started June 2010

• 3 Countries: Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya• 4 Universities

– Haramaya University, Ethiopia– Moi University, Kenya– Makerere University, Uganda– United States International University, Kenya

• 2 University Networks– AERC (CMAAE)– RUFORUM

CMAAE Makerere USIU HaramayaCollaborative creation of OER case studies across two universities in the CMAAE. Coffee in Ethiopia and Maize in Kenya.

OER creation and community engagement as part of student field research: Dairy Value Chain. South-western Uganda. Case materials for MSc and down streamed materials for improved farmer practice.

OER co-creation and feedback loops by students in internships and African faculty of agriculture. Course taught to leaders of farmer organizations, aspirant commercial farmers, and other interested parties.

OER creation of the course Perspectives on Agriculture Extension for the RUFORUM MSc AICM program.

Strengths as a pilotReplication and customization in CMAAE; co-creation using two universities; students and faculty working together to create cases; involvement of community-wide partners.

Ties research and OER sustainably with graduate student research; Ties with community engagement platform; creates field-based OER illustrating practices; potential down streaming to farmers.

Co-creation using multi-institutions of different types; community feedback loops; students on internships create content; content can be shared through commercial farmer producer organizations.

Replication and customization throughout RUFORUM; creating a complete OER course; enables undergraduate and graduate students to participate in creating materials as part of internships and field projects.

Agshare Publishing

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OER Resources Created

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Resource Type QuantityInstitutional Partners Contributing Resources

Student Theses 3 Makerere and Moi

Teaching Cases 10 AllScholarly Paper (in progress) 2 Makerere

Reports 7 Makerere, Moi, and USIU

Multimedia—DVDs/CDs 7 All

Community Brochures 19 All

Posters 6 All

AgShare Results—Quotes from the Impact Assessment

• All data and reports indicated that AgShare had a highly positive OER impact on farmers and the broader agricultural community. In addition to its formal aims, AgShare had significant secondary effects. Impact extended beyond farmers to sectors of the value chain as well as contributing to the status and role of women involved in agricultural production.


• Student-researchers benefited in several ways, but mainly in terms of their enhanced contextually relevant specialist knowledge and induction into field-based research under the guidance of academics with whom they worked closely. Theory and practice came together. Students who studied the resulting OER benefited from content developed in authentic contexts and presented in interactive ways that brought the subject alive.


• The OER allowed them to adjust the sequencing and pacing of their own learning in line with their own needs and interests. Amongst other OER assets, students appreciated clear curriculum structure and more purposeful forms of assessment. Like their students, academics experienced the OER as an “eye opener” that presented new and exciting possibilities for teaching.


• … AgShare has synergized an impulse for the repositioning of Makerere as a “development” university. This impulse has been institutionalized in AFRISA (Africa Institute for Strategic Animal Resource Services and Development)…..The paradigm shift is from “the classical ‘Ivory Tower’ model to the ACP3 model (Academic-Community-Public-Private Partnership” model.

Foundation Final Report

• AgShare methods have transformed the way in which academics now conceptualize their role as teachers and researchers by validating community-based problems as research and collaborating with students and stakeholders

• AgShare methods create relevant and effective student learning in the coursework component of the master’s degree enabling students to engage with local issues versus abstract theory

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AgShare Phase II – an overview

Alice Barlow-ZambodlaSaide-OER Africa

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Our vision

• “The sustainable use of AgShare methods, driven particularly by on-going student engagement in community research, content development and knowledge sharing activities in postgraduate programmes at African Faculties of Agriculture actively supports agricultural communities to effect positive change across key identified agricultural value chains.”

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Expectations of this next phase

Working through the RUFORUM network:• That African Faculties of Agriculture and

Veterinary Science will embed student - centred action research activities and outputs into teaching and learning and also use them to support the development of smallholder farmers.

• Widespread dissemination of AgShare methodology and outputs via the RUFORUM network

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Who are we working with?

• Haramaya University – Ethiopia (Pilot)• Mekelle University – Ethiopia (New)• Makerere University – Uganda [Vet Science

(Pilot) and Agric/Computer Science (New)]• Sokoine University of Agriculture – Tanzania

(New)• AgShare Champions - at institutions involved

in the pilot

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Main project objectives

1. Creation of an enabling institutional environment to support the adoption of the AgShare student-centred research methodology in identified programmes.

2. Institutional capacity is created and peer-reviewed OER produced and used, to support and enhance post-graduate agricultural curricula using the AgShare method.

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Main project objectives contd.

• Widespread dissemination of the AgShare methodology and related good quality African generated research outputs and OER, using multiple methods.

• Focus on: scaling up, ensuring production of quality of outputs, facilitating institutional uptake and integration, and ensuring wide spread dissemination

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Must have an agricultural value chain focus:– Plant Breeding/Crop Science– Soil and Water Management– AICM/Agricultural Extension

NB: Case studies to be organized through the RUFORUM MSc Coordinators for the identified focus programmes

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• The idea is to link AICM/Extension students needing field attachments with Plant breeding/crop science research teams to develop more case studies/extension materials

• Funding is limited and relates to facilitating student involvement in the co-creation of case studies/extension materials

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M&E

• Main focus on measuring–Effectiveness–Scalability

• Indicators are being developed

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Opportunities

We are seeking to maximise the scaling up and effectiveness of the AgShare model through leveraging synergies from development of strategic linkages and partnerships that would contribute to further scaling up and:

Support capacity building and support of• Institutional staff development• Translational scholars – mentoring, work placement• Database and repository optimisation• Expansion of the model and its impact as a whole

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Thank you!

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ag share ii presentation fao

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