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Institution: Wageningen Agricultural University

E-mail: Dhounk@bow.intnet.bj

Biosummary:

Agronomist, post-graduate degree in management. Experience: management of agricultural services, rural extension / communication, international cooperation and partnership systems. Languages: French (excellent), English (fluent), and Spanish (basic). Graduate training: State Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, Gembloux, Belgium (1969-1974), Agronomy Diploma/ specialized in agricultural engineering. Post-graduate training: Centre d’Etudes Financières, Economiques et Bancaires, Paris, France, (1982-1983), CEFEB Diploma / specialized in business management. Professional experience: 1974 - 1984 (in Benin): - Head of a District Agricultural Extension Service, and, from 1977, Director General of a Rural Development Centre. 1984 - 1996 Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation, ACP-EU (CTA), Wageningen, the Netherlands: - Chargé de Mission, Technical Advisor and, from 1994, Head of Operations and Regional Activities Division. From 1996: International consultations, on-going Ph.D programme / Wageningen Agricultural University, the Netherlands.

Title: "Promoting new institutional models for poverty alleviation in Africa: Learning from local dynamics."

Theme: 4E

Abstract:

At this eve of the 21st century, despite enormous economic progress achieved, a large part of the world population continues to suffer severe deprivation, mainly in developing countries. The relationship between the issues of poverty, environment, economic growth and sustainable development in Africa have been documented (Lufumpa, 1998), but experience has shown that although attaining economic growth is a necessary condition, poverty reduction is not just about economics. In fact, current local dynamics in Africa confirm for example that adequate decentralization is important to assure ownership and efficiency of poverty alleviation measures. Therefore, new avenues should be designed for agricultural research, to explore and understand local strategies for poverty reduction and to lead to suggestions aiming at strengthening current grassroots efforts, through new partnership modes.