The N2Africa project was officially launched in Addis Ababa on 27-28 Feb 2014. The launch was held in a tent due to ongoing refurbishment on ILRI’s conference facilities. The tent lent an informal atmosphere to the meeting and encouraged strong engagement by around 70 participants from across Ethiopia and from other N2Africa countries.
During the first morning, Ken Giller and Bernard Vanlauwe made introductory presentations which inspired participants on the potential of nitrogen fixation to enhance productivity. Director General of the Ethiopian Institute for Agricultural Research, Dr Fentahun Mengistu, officially opened the meeting. The participants then enjoyed a brief overview of the achievements of the recently completed bridging phase project which included impressive photos of demo plots from around the country. The bridging phase has successfully established partnerships with a range of Ethiopian research institutions.
In the afternoon and on Day 2, participants worked in groups to define visions of success and to sketch out action plans around key project outcomes: productivity, value chains and markets, nutrition, women’s empowerment, livestock. The discussions were active and dynamic fueled by breaks for traditional Ethiopian coffee and a range of pulses with injera at mealtimes.
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By the end of the meeting, there was a strong spirit of collaboration among participants and some excellent networks were established which bode well for the establishment of N2Africa Phase II in Ethiopia. Alan Duncan
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The information about this meeting is available via wikispaces.