The authors focus on how social actors engage in processes of learning and doing, how they are
knowing their way into the future. People are seen as cognitive beings who make sense of their
environment. Yet, their environment also directs and pushes their knowing in a particular
direction. This assumes a direct link between social knowing and governance. A case from rural
Cameroon shows how well-intentioned but isolated attempts to strengthen local learning may
backfire. The question is raised as to whether one can speak of good governance of knowing.

The purpose of this sub plenary session is to have an understanding of the knowledge-poverty nexus
and to discuss how this can be translated into concrete partnership programme in agricultural
research for development (ARD).

The Sub-Plenary Sessions are designed to maximize interaction among the members of the different
GFAR stakeholder constituencies in discussing emerging themes around which potential Global
Partnership Programmes (GPPs) can be developed.
It aims to meet the following specific objectives:
1. To discuss the general trends/state-of-the-art on the subject under discussion
2. To identify the key problematique and researchable issues
3. To explore interests and potentials in developing a GPP

This paper presents the work done with Salato Women¿s Group in Ngurunit Community located in
Northern Kenya. The main objectives in the project were to:
¿ Establish a link between research and literature on milk / meat preservation techniques and the
practical ability of pastoralist communities to use this information to produce products for
food security and income generation.
¿ Enhance the capacity of self-help groups to start small scale milk / meat preservation
enterprises on the community level.

The project developed water saving cropping systems that have been demonstrated at 11 original
demonstration sites. More recently four new sites were established in Hebei and new sites at in each
of four neighbouring provinces. These sites have consistently shown that irrigation water for water
saving cropping systems can be reduced by up to 30% as compared to traditional cropping systems
without reduction in yields.
The zero till system of planting corn, introduced by the project, has been adopted by a majority of

The project developed water saving cropping systems that have been demonstrated at 11 original
demonstration sites. More recently four new sites were established in Hebei and new sites at in each
of four neighbouring provinces. These sites have consistently shown that irrigation water for water
saving cropping systems can be reduced by up to 30% as compared to traditional cropping systems
without reduction in yields.
The zero till system of planting corn, introduced by the project, has been adopted by a majority of

This paper presents the work done with Salato Women¿s Group in Ngurunit Community located in
Northern Kenya. The main objectives in the project were to:
¿ Establish a link between research and literature on milk / meat preservation techniques and the
practical ability of pastoralist communities to use this information to produce products for
food security and income generation.
¿ Enhance the capacity of self-help groups to start small scale milk / meat preservation
enterprises on the community level.

Synthesis of Working Groups 5-10. Goals:
1. To be a global platform for dialogue, advocacy, policy-making and supporting implementation on
issues of global concern in agricultural research and development (ARD) such as intellectual
property rights, production of global public goods, impact of globalization and appropriate use of
biotechnology by its stakeholders.
2. To promote participatory action research mechanisms through coordination, facilitation and
supporting capacity building for all of its stakeholders at community, national, regional and

There was general consensus on the potential value-adding role that can and should be played by
GFAR in supporting agricultural research and development in the world. There was the need however
for clarity of the role of GFAR vis-à-vis those of other fora, lower down in the geographic hierarchy
(e.g. continental Agricultural Fora (e.g. FARA), the SROs and other layers of operation), to avoid
duplication and confusion.
Priority roles for GFAR were agreed as follows: