Organised by the Platform for African - European Partnership in Agricultural Research for Development (PAEPARD) and the Swedish University of Agricultural Science (SLU), the working group met at SLU in to consolidate plans for a European arm of the successful Association of African Agricultural Professionals in the Diaspora (AAAPD).
As with the American version, the Association of African Agricultural Professionals in the Diaspora-Europe (AAAPD-E) will use a database — to go online by mid-2013 — to link expatriate Africans with agricultural expertise, research centres, farm organisations and governments on the continent. The network will fulfil a wide range of functions, such as enabling African universities to gain access to expertise, and facilitating collaboration, information-sharing and training exchanges. It could also improve advocacy and lobbying, by creating a unified voice on issues the African diaspora can take on.
Many diaspora groups already exist in Europe, but the power of the new initiative lies in its singular focus on agriculture, said AAAPD's president, Peter Jeranyama.
