Introducing the CGIAR research program on dryland systems

CGIAR Research Program

Dryland Systems

Said SilimICARDA, Country Manager

Africa RISING Annual Learning Event

ILRI, Addis Ababa, 24-26 September 2013

This presentation

• Drylands and dryland production systems• Key challenges• Program objectives• Target regions• Research themes• Expected outcomes• Partner institutions

Drylands

• Drylands cover about 41% of the earth’s land area (~3 b Ha)

• Dry areas are home to 2.5 billion people

• About 16% of this population lives in chronic poverty.

Dryland production systems

• Complex combinations of locally adapted crops, vegetables, livestock, rangelands, trees and fish

• Generally low in productivity and unable to meet the growing demands

Production system EnterprisesAgro-pastoral (19% land area)

Millet, sorghum, pulses, groundnut, maize, trees Cattle, small ruminants

Pastoral (40% land area)

Rangeland species; fodder trees & shrubsCamels, cattle, sheep, goats

Rainfed mixed (16% land area)

Sorghum, millet, pulses (cowpea, chickpea, lentil, faba bean), maize, wheat, groundnut, cassava, trees, Camels, cattle, sheep, goats

Key Challenges

• Highly variable precipitation and temperatures

• Water scarcity– Low and erratic rainfall– Prolonged droughts

• Low inherent soil fertility• Severe land degradation and

desertification• Loss of biodiversity• Number of socio-economic and

institutional constraints • Lack of investment

Program Objectives

• Sustainable productivity growth and intensified production systems at the farm and landscape levels

• More resilient dryland agro-ecosystems that can cope with climate variation and change

• Less vulnerable and improved livelihoods of rural communities in drylands

• Enhanced and equitable agricultural innovations systems that link to policy and improve the impact of research and development investments in dry areas

Target regions

• Areas/systems with the deepest endemic poverty and most vulnerable populations, often associated with severe natural resource degradation and extreme environmental variability

• Systems with the greatest potential for impact on poverty in the short to medium term

Research themes

• Approaches and models for strengthening innovation systems and linking knowledge to policy action

• Reducing vulnerability and managing risk

• Sustainable intensification for more productive, profitable and diversified dryland agriculture with well-established linkages to markets

• Measuring impacts and cross-regional synthesis

Target regions

• Areas/systems with the deepest endemic poverty and most vulnerable populations, often associated with severe natural resource degradation and extreme environmental variability

• Systems with the greatest potential for impact on poverty in the short to medium term

Expected outcomes

• Adoption and use innovation systems approaches • Increased and better focused investment in drylands• Integrated interventions that reduce vulnerability,

manage risk and improve resilience of rural livelihoods• Increased capacity to adapt to climate and other shocks • Integrated management options that sustainably

intensify and diversify production systems• Women and other disadvantaged groups benefit from

innovation processes that is based on equitable access• Engagement in value-adding activities and new

agribusiness • Increased investment in the dryland development

Program partners

• Bioversity International• Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT)• Centro Internacional de la Papa (CIP)• International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas

(ICARDA, the Lead Center)• International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics

(ICRISAT)• International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)• International Water Management Institute (IWMI)• World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)• WorldFish Center• Sub-Saharan Africa Challenge Program (SSA-CP)