Voices of CAADP process facilitators on the NPCA Capacity Development

Ngandu Bwalya, Investment Promotions and Banking Consultant

This working session has clarified what we have read in the CAADP Guide. The exchange of ideas with fellow participants has helped me to understand the process very well.

The roles of process facilitators have been explained but acquiring the skills, defining the technical role is ongoing. One of the things which this working session has helped me is to see the basic fundamental differences under coaching, training and mentoring. It has been made clearer to me now.  I am a lot more comfortable now with the role of the process facilitator than before.

By the time we are finished here we should be able to establish some kind of networking where we can have a platform to share our different tools and skills which could be used in the CAADP process facilitation.

Apart from undergoing formal training, the other important source for capacity building tools was the different people’s experience which allows me to build specific skills which one can apply to the CAADP country team process facilitation.

I appreciated having gone through the CAADP capacity development training as my brain has gone through a thinking process and I feel it is more of doing the process facilitation which is important.

One of the difficulties is that covering the whole sense of the CAADP framework is very useful; perhaps in future an attempt should be made where the participants can have hands on approach where we facilitate a session.

There should be more emphasis on practical training. Get participants to carry out actual facilitation using the group members as the clients.  Participants can take turns to facilitate. In other words more of the training should be based on doing.

The group of process facilitators should be formalized.  To keep the group together and engaged, there be should be a mailing list and we should receive periodic information on what is happening with respect to CAADP and network among ourselves so we can exchange experiences.

Marthe Wandou, Development Consultant

The presentations made by GIZ, COMESA and discussions by participants have helped me understand CAADP much better.

What is clear to me is the role of the process facilitator. Before coming to this working session it was not very clear to me whether are going to be trainers or coaches for country teams. What was in my mind was that we were going to be facilitators or trainers but now we are going to be CAADP process facilitators.

The defining process is still going on and we are going to still clarify on the terms of reference for the process facilitators. I have shared on visualization and presentation in process facilitation. By the ened of the training I will acquire more skills in process facilitation.

There is expected change in poverty alleviation by African governments that are expected to contribute 10% of the annual budget to agriculture.  

My wish is that all these specialists keep in touch in a network as all of them live in different countries. There is also need for the NEPAD Agency to keep in touch with specialists and country teams. The other need is for regular feedback on the CAADP process.

We are being trained to be ready to facilitate a process with a country team. After this training, am ready to facilitate a CAADP country team process.

If possible the NEPAD Agency should also bring in women into the process as only two compared to 10 men are being trained. It should also make sure that women are also represented in the country teams in order to have a gender balance.

Nathaniel Njema, Development Management, Coach

The presentations were very good and I can say this with authority. The sequencing was very good. The speakers were very knowledgeable and spoke with passion to an extent that we the participants said it was a religion.

The presentations were on a compelling subject and that is what is missing a lot in development. I think that my understanding of CAADP has been enhanced. I have read about CAADP but understood so little.  The presentations were very good as I understand more now. Hearing Simon Kisira from the NEPAD Agency speak with simple terms but with so much passion attracted my listening.

What we need to do from time to time is let the process grow and jointly reflect as a group. We would also use other people’s skills as tools.

Once in four months we should meet jointly and share experiences. For us to have to work together, I wish we could have a team building so that we are open to one another. We should be able to know each other’s skills so that they can be referred to other country teams which could use their skills. 

I am promoting a structure where there is a backstopping team because these days for training here in Ghana are not enough to develop process facilitation and the tools. We need to share skills. There is also need for other process facilitators to observe their colleagues. Each of the process facilitators have strong  holds which need to be embraced.

This working session has made me become clearer in process facilitation. I am more grounded than before. I think at times many people have not reflected on what process facilitation is all about. I am happy that I was here and have managed to sell my vision and input.

For this process to ensure that there is quality it will cost money. My approach to this is that we need to learn a lot to have a common understanding. Where we observe that someone is not pulling his weight, we need to be true to ourselves that someone is not pulling their weight.

I still hold my fears that unless a certain level of competency in case of instruments of tools is reached, this will be another failing program. Technical consultancy is left to the country and no one is bringing them together to reflect on their performance. I also see that there is a tendency to push people. Maybe there are fears because I don’t know what is at the technical level of each country team.

Collin Kamalizeni, Management Policy Business Consultant

The training has given me a clear perspective of what governments are doing in terms of support because in Africa we rely on agriculture and now I see the efforts being done by governments to reduce poverty.  Our institution is trying to participate in the effort to deal with MDG number one which is about reducing poverty.

I think it will be necessary for us to work with the communities especially the different sectors in the countries like the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Finance. I feel the Ministry of Education should also be involved so that this CAADP issue should be incorporated in learning. 

The government must really support the CAADP country team in facilitating the process. We must guide and prepare them (the governments) for the roles in terms of coordinating the activities of their countries.

I shared my experiences; the issue of fitting into the system it is not about knowing it all. The consultant must be conscious about what to use. Sometime you can find politics may not be supportive and you need to be sensitive to these issues.

My skills have been much enhanced. What is critical is to re-organise that knowledge at a later stage of achieving the goals of putting food on the table.

What is missing is getting a sense of the conditions of the work we will provide. These should have been explained right from the beginning. Some of the things fail not because people don’t have the capacity but due to issues of cost.

I would want to say that this workshop is facilitated to continually go one perhaps on a blog or a discussion group.

Albert Tenga Crop Scientist, Consultant in food security and value chain systems

The working session on the CAADP process facilitation is very relevant. I learnt first the CAADP core goals and objectives, the CAADP country teams’ formation process and what they are supposed to be doing. I also leant the emphasis on the fact that if the CAADP process is enhanced the expectations will be food security and incomes in pockets.

For this to happen, the role of the process facilitators need be concretized and their relationship within country teams need to be clearly understood including their work responsibilities as well as those relating to decision makers that will be making the appropriate policies for the CAADP process.

The country teams need to have very strong lobbying skills. The country teams as representatives of their constituency need to show interest and effectively participate in the CAADP process.

I also learnt the need to understand the types of skills that one needs to have as a good facilitator to understand the content and context as country teams are really dynamic as observed from the Ghana team.

As a process facilitator, I believe the country team has to understand things like how to move forward and do things together.  What I leant is that the process facilitator is combining three things coaching, mentoring and where necessary training. The CAADP process facilitator must know the context and the content and also know the deliverables.  There are milestones that have to be archived in the CAADP process.

There is need for one to provide an enabling environment for the country teams to have those strong lobbying skills. There is also need for country teams to be strengthened in order for them to manage and coordinate the CAADP process as they are not the only ones coordinating the process as stakeholders.

In my contributions, I shared attributes of a good facilitator. One of them being a good listener and also ensure that whatever one is writing up is very legible and can be seen. There is also need for the facilitator to stimulate the different participants in the team to speak up on the issues.

One needs to be good at documenting what is happening in the CAADP process facilitation. The other thing shared was the fact that in terms of getting to implementations we need to be mindful of lessons learnt on other programs.

I have learnt being able to distinguish amongst the tools whether it is mentoring, couching or training in process facilitation. My ability has been greatly improved. Taking them individually I have done coaching before and mentoring and I now understand how to do it better than before.

I think the other thing I can say is that, I now realize that learning more about the CAADP process is so important but not only do it as a working session here but continue on my own in agriculture. The other thing that is rising out of this is the emphasis on CAADP as a process. This has been important.

As we go along, I hope we can have a review of the process when we start working with country teams. There is also need to utilize important social media tools like facebook, twitter and blogs in the CAADP process of sharing and letting others learn about information.

Dan Omino, Strategy Monitoring and Evaluation performance NGT Consultant

I needed to go through a session of internalizing the CAADP process among people who are peers and  also with the representation of the NEPAD Agency, and COMESA.

Participating in the working session was also an opportunity to meet with the Ghana country team which took us through process facilitation as capacity building was directed on country teams.

Being here has actually refined my learning of the CAADP Guide and the presentation by the NEPAD Agency helped me incorporate learning points and the issues of focusing on the quality of the process with the quality of the Guide.

Our roles are basically to help facilitate the CAADP process at the national level. My skills have been enhanced by refining my approach on what I target to achieve and that will answer my questions.

I would want to share the fact that the CAADP Guide so far has worked well. But there is need to do some more work on it. It should be very pronounced on the expected results. It is necessary that we start incorporating indicators of success. As we are developing the human capital at the end of the whole process we will need to develop the indicators.

Joe Taabazuing, Development Consultant 

So far I have a better understanding of what CAADP is and what is expected of us as process facilitators.

The one thing I would like to go home with is to work on the values and institutional practices. I feel it is not enough to just provide skills to a group of people but it is also important engage them so that they can appreciate and see things differently. Just giving people the skills is a danger as there is need for them to change their attitudes.

Colletah Chitsike, Adult Educationist ICRASA

I now have a bit of clarity on the CAADP process but it is not very clear.  When we talk about capacity building, it is to the whole of Africa. In terms of performance with country teams it is to provide process facilitation. What I find lacking is result oriented capacity. As the process is going along, there should be some time boundaries.

I am also getting a bit scared when I hear that countries are different from each other in terms of culture and the way governments are run.

The whole process facilitation is very important. I have also recognized that gender is always pushed aside and taken on a lighter note. This should go beyond figures and trickle down into content and also involve effective women who are clear about gender issues. It is even more strengthened when men talk about gender issues. It is unacceptable to talk about process facilitation without a gender lens.

I think there is still need for clarity in terms of roles and responsibilities of process facilitators. I also feel that when we were asked to talk about our contributions, the discussion was taking us away from process facilitation. I feel there should be a specific injection on process facilitation and planning.

Behavioral pre-request such as communication, participatory methodology, application of principles of managing diversity, use of languages with simple words being inter changed like experts and consultants, I really hope we will come up with clear directions with what is expected.

Clemence Chiduwa, Institute for Capacity development

I have learnt that the issue of diversity in terms of the implementation of the CAADP program is not a one size fits all approach.

What I would like to carry home is the cascading of the implementation of the CAADP program from the country team down to the people who are on the ground. At the end of the day we want to make a difference to people in poverty and those insecure from the top to the lower level.

Generally, I would say I benefited from the program and now I understand the objectives of the program and the guiding pillars and these should assist me as one of the process facilitators to come up with clear cut intervention measures.

For us as process facilitators we are there to provide the skills. We need to do a skills gap analysis when we go back our countries. Our interventions then are going to be based on the skills deficit. As for me my area is in modeling and economics and if that is the area which is need by the country team I will gladly provide the service.

Ranga Taruvinga, Management Consultant-Land use rural development/environment

So far I have understood the CAADP process and I know where we fit it as process facilitators. I know that the CAADP process is still an ongoing one. I am still not clear in my mind on the interface between our services and our clients.

There are so many interventions people are engaging in different aspects. The opportunity is there but I am not too sure what the engagement is going to be like. I am hoping to hear specifically how we are going to be engaged and participate in the process in a formal manner. We start process facilitation in given country and roll that out.

The things I indicated in my expectations are unfolding for example: facilitation of the workshop is going on well although I feel it is spread over a long a time.

The question of opportunity and costs matters. People are participating and this is good and healthy. I think the issue of diversity of cultures, systems and process in different countries is good. What we need is maturity, higher level of understanding, skills accountability to be able to facilitate a process. The people who are here are competent enough.

CAADP-I am hopeful it will work and my contribution will make a difference to the process.

I have not seen much of ACCRA so I hope I can see it. I think the future workshops should be held during working days as weekends are family time.