The Federal Government of Nigeria has demonstrated a strong commitment to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the NEEDS Targets. Recognizing the importance of agriculture, as well as the challenges faced by the sector, in providing evidence for policymaking, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources (FMAWR) established the Agricultural Policy Support Facility (APSF), with the International Food Policy Research Institution (IFPRI) as its implementing partner and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) providing financial support. APSF aims to strengthen the capacity of FMAWR to design and implement agricultural policies by addressing the fundamental knowledge, capacity, and communication problems faced by the Government of Nigeria. In order to support evidence-based policymaking, it is essential to identify the current capacity within Nigeria for providing evidence for policymaking and for creating this capacity for future generations. In collaboration with the University of Ibadan, University of Agriculture-Abeokuta, FMAWR, and IFPRI, a consultation workshop on “Sustaining Capacity for Supplying Evidence for Agricultural Rural Development Policies and Strategies was held at the University of Ibadan on April 28, 2008. The objectives of this consultative workshop were to identify: specific capacity challenges confronting university professors who are teaching the next generation of policymakers, policy analysts, researchers and university professors; curriculum gaps within the university programs for building capacity for designing and implementing pro-poor, gender sensitive, and environmentally sustainable agricultural and rural development policies and strategies; employment opportunities for the university graduates in agricultural economics and extension and the required skills; existing capacity for undertaking agriculture and rural development policy research; and current methods used by researchers to convey their results to decisionmakers and other stakeholders.

With this issue of 2008, we bring 49 proceedings of the 85, which started life as presentations at the Annual 14th International Scientific Conference on Research for Rural Development 2008 held at the Latvia University of Agriculture, in Jelgava, on 21st to 23rd May 2008. In the retrospect of four month later, we can count the Conference as a great success. The theme - Research for Rural Development - attracted participation of 357 researches with very different backgrounds. There were 2 presentations from Czech Republic, 1 from Denmark, 1 from Poland, 1 from Sweden, 2 from Estonia, 13 from Lithuania and 65 from Latvia. Four independent reviewers estimated each report. The proceedings of the Conference is intended for academics, students and professionals researching in the area of crop production, animal breeding, agricultural engineering, agrarian and regional economics, food sciences, veterinary medicine, forestry, wood processing and water management.

The study examined livelihoods and wealth distribution among farm households in western Kenya. Stratified random sampling was used to select 252 households from eight districts. Focus group discussions were used to collect complementary community-level data. Results indicate that average household size was seven persons. The cropping system was over 70% mixed. Agriculture was the main source of livelihoods. Labour was mainly allocated to crop enterprises, with household heads allocating > 50% of their labour to it. Maize (Zea mays) and common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) were the most important staple/traded food crops. Poultry, followed by cattle dominated livestock enterprises. Few households diversified into small businesses, employment and artisan to enhance livelihoods. Despite this, 5 – 95% of people remained food insecure. Lack of cash and limited land access were the most important factors constraining agricultural development. Although, most households preferred selling produce in markets where prices were better, many not only sold produce but purchased inputs from nearest towns due to high costs of accessing better price markets. Wealth inequality among households was very high, with household wealth Gini-coefficient of 0.52 and per capita wealth Gini-coefficient of 0.55, calling for better interventions targeting to reach most vulnerable/marginal groups and create all-inclusive opportunities.

Bridging the research and policy divide remains a top priority on the Nigerian federal government's agenda. This renewed commitment paved the way for the Agricultural Support Facility Project (APSF), which seeks to, among other things, create an environment and produce evidence on specific policy issues facing the Nigerian agricultural sector that allows for a more inclusive design and implementation of evidence-based, pro-poor, gender sensitive, and environmentally sustainable agricultural and rural development policies and strategies in Nigeria. The conviction that the policymaking process should benefit from stakeholders' active participation led APSF to organize a stakeholder workshop to serve as a forum for addressing issues emanating from the evidence being generated by the facility. The workshop objectives were to: share progress on implementing APSF; discuss current research findings; and dialogue with stakeholders on upcoming activities (see Appendix A for Agenda). The workshop brought together participants from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources (FMAWR), the National Planning Commission (NPC), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the Federal Ministry of Finance (FMF), the Federal Ministry of Commerce and Industry (FMCI), the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the donor community, academia, farmers' organizations and the private sector. This executive summary provides an overview of the research findings, highlights key group discussion points, and provides next steps.

Bridging the research and policy divide remains a top priority on the Nigerian federal government's agenda. This renewed commitment paved the way for the Agricultural Support Facility Project (APSF), which seeks to, among other things, create an environment and produce evidence on specific policy issues facing the Nigerian agricultural sector that allows for a more inclusive design and implementation of evidence-based, pro-poor, gender sensitive, and environmentally sustainable agricultural and rural development policies and strategies in Nigeria. The conviction that the policymaking process should benefit from stakeholders' active participation led APSF to organize a stakeholder workshop to serve as a forum for addressing issues emanating from the evidence being generated by the facility. The workshop objectives were to: share progress on implementing APSF; discuss current research findings; and dialogue with stakeholders on upcoming activities (see Appendix A for Agenda). The workshop brought together participants from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources (FMAWR), the National Planning Commission (NPC), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the Federal Ministry of Finance (FMF), the Federal Ministry of Commerce and Industry (FMCI), the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the donor community, academia, farmers' organizations and the private sector. This executive summary provides an overview of the research findings, highlights key group discussion points, and provides next steps.