The principal function of the Regional Office for Africa is the overall identification, planning and implementation of FAO's priority activities in the Region. It ensures a multi disciplinary approach to programmes; identify priority areas of action for the Organization in the Region and, in collaboration with departments and divisions at headquarters, advise on the incorporation of such priorities into the Organization's Programme of Work and Budget; implement approved programmes in the Region; and monitor the level of programme implementation and draw attention to any deficiencies.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) are pleased to announce the technical expert workshop on “Gaps, trends and current research in gender dimensions of agricultural and rural employment: differentiated pathways out of poverty”, which will be held in Rome in the week of 30 March – 3 April 2009 (duration three days - exact dates to be confirmed).

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research - Institute for Scientific and Technological Information (CSIR-INSTI), under the Ghana AGRIS Pilot Project, will organize a stakeholder consultation meeting from 4 - 6 August 2008. The meeting, to be held at Alexia Hotel, Afienya (in Tema), will bring together representatives of the seven institutions participating in the pilot project and representatives of the member institutions of the Ghana Agricultural Information Network System (GAINS).

The 25th FAO Regional Conference for Africa will be held at the United Nations Office Nairobi (UNON) Kenya from 16th to 20th June 2008.

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)’s Institute for Scientific Technological Information (INSTI) and the Ghana Agricultural Information Network System (GAINS) will hold the first meeting of the seven pilot institutions on the Ghana AGRIS Pilot Project, on 5th December 2007, at Erata Hotel, in Accra.

FAO, in collaboration with the University of Ghana, the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), is organising a workshop on Mainstreaming Gender in Forestry in Africa to be held at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Accra, Ghana, 12 – 13 November 2007.

The workshop would be attended by 20 fishery officers from Ghana, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Zambia and Uganda. The workshop will consist of lectures and field work in an artisanal fisheries location to provide basic knowledge on informal Fish Loss Assessment and the local tracking methodologies. A process of conducting pilot assessment studies in economically and socially important fisheries sites in the Africa region will be initiated during and after the workshop.

The NEPAD Food Security Summit is scheduled for 4th - 7th December 2006 in Abuja, Nigeria, and will attract participants from all over Africa and beyond. Highlights of planned activities include presentation of papers, exhibitions by local and international exhibitors and cultural entertainment.

The 24th FAO Regional Conference for Africa will be held at the Bamako International Conference Centre from 30th January to 3rd February 2006. The inaugural ceremony of the plenary session will take place at the Bamako International Conference Centre at 10.00 hours on 02 February 2006.

An international forum entitled ‘Promoting the business of grasscutter production in West-Africa’ shall be convened in Accra, Ghana from 12 to 16 December 2005.

The 15th session of the African Forestry and Wildlife Commission (AFWC) will take place in Maputo, Mozambique 27-31 March 2006. The AFWC provides a policy and technical forum for countries to discuss and address forest issues on a regional basis. This session of the AFWC will feature a Special session on the ‘Implementation of Sustainable Forest Management in Africa’.

During the AFWC, the Working Party on Wildlife and Protected Areas shall hold its 16th session. A workshop shall be convened on ‘Forestry, wildlife and poverty alleviation’.

The FAO Regional Office for Africa, in collaboration with TEEAL Africa/Information Training and Outreach Centre for Africa (ITOCA) will be conducting a three day course for information managers/librarians, researchers, and educators from selected institutions/organizations in Ghana on the use of the Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture (AGORA).

Two Regional Workshops for the Review of Draft International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs) will be held in Accra (FAO Regional Office) from 22 to 26 August 2005 for French speaking Africa and from 29 August to 02 September for English speaking Africa respectively.

The 19th Session of the African Commission on Agricultural Statistics (AFCAS) will take place in Maputo, Mozambique 24-27 October 2005. A Technical Workshop will be organised back-to-back with AFCAS, 20-22 October 2005 at the same venue.

More information will be provided later.

This Conference is part of a series of regional conferences on food safety that FAO and WHO are convening in response to requests from member countries for policy advice and capacity building in food safety management. Visit the conferennce Web site for more information.

The Third Session of the Artisanal Fisheries Working Group of the Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic (CECAF) Scientific Sub-Committee will be held at the Main Conference Room of the FAO Regional Office for Africa, from Tuesday, 7 June to Thursday, 9 June 2005.

The 13th East and Southern Sub-Committee meeting (EASCO) will take place from 30th May to 5th June 2005. The plenary session will be held in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) on the 30th May, followed by a training field trip along a transect ending in Naivasha (Kenya) on the 5th June 2005.

The theme of this meeting is: Harmonization and Dissemination of Soil Knowledge for sustainable Land Management: training on World Reference Base (WRB) and land use planning.

The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) will be holding its biennial General Assembly from 6th to 12th June 2005, in Entebbe, Uganda at the Imperial Resort Beach Hotel. FARA Biennial General Assembly brings together the Sub-regional organizations (SROs), national agricultural research system (NARS), international agricultural scientific community, farmers’ organization, governments, nongovernmental organizations, the international donor community and the private sector.