A paradigm shift in agricultural research for development innovation platforms as a vehicle for change and impact in smallholder agriculture in West and Central Africa by Julienne

A paradigm shift in agricultural research for development: Innovation Platforms as a vehicle

for change and impact in Smallholder Agriculture in West and Central Africa

A. Njoya, J. Kuiseu, S. Sanyang, G.A. Muluh & H. Roy-Macauley.

International Conference on Integrated Systems

Research for Sustainable Intensification in

Smallholder Agriculture

March 3-6, 2015, IITA Headquarters in Ibadan, Nigeria

Presentation outline

Background

Institutionalization of IAR4D in

WCA

Perspectives

AR4D, R4D, INRM,

IAR4D, etc = Innovation

Systems Approaches

Background

• Dissatisfaction with the linear approach technology transfer

• Low efficiency of this transfer mode

• Low technology adoption rates

1980-2000: introduction

of participatory

approaches and new

ways to improve and

integrate stakeholders

actions

CORAF/WECARD

Adoption of IAR4D as a

strategy to implement the

Strategic Plan (2007-2016) and

the Operational Plans and

Innovation platforms as tool for

implementing IAR4D

A network of organizations, enterprises,

and individuals focused on bringing new

products, new processes, and new forms

of organization into economic use,

together with the institutions and policies

that affect their behavior and performance.

World Bank, 2012

Innovation system

1.The different perspectives, knowledge and

actions of different stakeholders are integrated

around a complex but common theme

2.Different stakeholders learn to work together

and mutually learn from working together

3.Analysis, action and change to assure

“balanced” development (economic, social,

environmental)

4.Analysis, action and change at different spatial

levels of economic and social organisation

Features of innovation approaches

Landscaping to identify key actors along the value chain Understand their habits and practices; incentives and motivations Outcome mapping Joint action M&L for course correction and lesson learning

Building innovation platforms

Innovation platforms facilitated

by CORAF/WECARD

Key innovation platform actors

Farmers / farmer organizations & entrepreneurs

Researchers

Extension including NGOs

Agribusiness – input /output dealers / processors /

traders/

Policymakers including community leaders

Agricultural training institutions / universities

Financial Institutions and Banks

Media

End-users

Backstopping of the IPs :

IITA for DONATA

Consortium: GRAD, ICRA, IITA – WAAPP,

CSIRO/DFAT project

Dimension of intervention in IP

Key achievements 212 IPs along commodity value

chains ranging from crops,

livestock, fisheries, and Natural

Resources Management.

o 105 IP on maize and cassava value

chains: 41,736 IP actors (44% women)

o 01 IP on Plantain in Cameroon : 1,488 IP

actors (43% women)

o 6 IP established in Mali, Niger and Togo

to test improved white pepper varieties

44 growers adopted the technology (49%

women)

47 farmers increased their milk off-take from 0.47 liter to 2.1 liters/cow/day

Key achievements Increased commodity yields: • Grain maize yield increased from 1.04-3.00 t/ha (2008) to 2.10-

4.90 t:ha in 2014

• Cassava tubers yield increased from 4-28 t/ha to 14-37 t/ha

• Vegetable from 14 t/ha to 39 t/ha per hectare

Farmers with planting materials

• 1986 (54% of women) farmers benefited from cassava planting

materials in Côte d’Ivoire

• About 290,000 plantain planting material worth US$ 193,000

was produced and sold to farmers

Key achievements

More incomes for IP actors:

• Gross income of grain maize among IP actors increased

544,000 in the 3rd year to over US$ 2 million in the 4th year

in Burkina Faso

• Average gross income of yellow grain maize per household

increased from US$ 449 to US$ 804 within 2 years in The

Gambia

• 225 hectares of plantain planted in 2012/2013 resulted in a

production of 3,000 tons and income of US$ 660,000 after a

year in Cameroon.

• Vegetable profit margins increased from 50 to US$ 140) per

month in Togo

Key achievements • The vegetable grower women IP actors who self

organized in a cooperative obtained US$ 9,000 in 2012

and this increased to US$ 16,000 in 2013 in Togo

• Average gross seed maize income per ha increased

from US$ 660 in 2008 to US$ 2,000 in 2012 in Mali

• Average gross income per farmer seed entrepreneur

grew from US$ 450 to US$ 2210 in Mali over the same

period of 4 years

• Emerged farmer seed entrepreneurs from 40 in 2007

to 80 in 2008 when the IP process started in Mali and

steadily increased to 200 by 2012.

Key achievements

Experiential learning and sharing

• WAAPP Gambia during a visit to an IP in

Sissili, Burkina Faso in 2013

Capacities to innovate:

• 18 MSc students (31 % women)

• 131% NARS Scientists (44% women)

• 6,058 other stakeholders -53% women

(farmers, processors, etc. ) in cassava

and maize technology generation and

dissemination, information systems,

value chain development, M&E, IAR4D

concept, seed production,

intrepreneurship, etc.

Key Achievements Policy Orientations on use IPs as vehicle for Change

in Agriculture

• Scaling up of innovation platforms

In Burkina Faso: a ministerial directive to research and

extension to institutionalize IP in rice, maize, cowpea,

shea butter, onion, livestock & meat.

In The Gambia: the Gambian President directed NARI to

institutionalize IP in all agricultural projects implemented

in the country.

In Sierra Leone a bill for the use of IP as a key extension

tool is drafted by the Ministry of Agriculture for

consideration by Parliament

Key Achievements • Scaling–out agricultural innovations; all the

WAAPP projects are now using IPs

The use of the multi-stakeholders and collective learning

and innovation processes with its national networks to

scale-up and scale-out the best innovations by the West

Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP) in 13

countries has helped to reach 3 200 000 by 2014

compared with only 305 000 in 2012.

• Nutrition

The introduction of a cassava processed product known

as « mbala-pinda » in school feeding programme or

canteens in four schools with 714 pupils including 73

indigenous people in Congo

Key Achievements

Key lessons learnt

Strengths

The innovation platform has permitted actors from

various domains to come together to seek common

solutions

Facilitation mechanisms well adapted to promotion and

access to knowledge and appropriation of innovations

and technologies

Involvement of political, customary and religious

authorities gives more credibility to actions

undertaken, encourages the adhesion of the local

populations, promotes access to resources (land

access) and facilitates mediation in conflicts

Key lessons learnt

Synergy among actors

facilitates the sharing of

experience and resolution of

problems in a complementary

manner and pooling of know-

how

Building mutual trust and confidence

among actors supports the engagement

of the latter in the establishment of

business relations and contracts.

Key lessons learnt

Issues

Non-functionality of the mechanisms for the sustainability

of the platform due to a deficiencies in planning

Documentation of processes and achievements

The low participation of women and youth in the activities

of the platforms

Key lessons learnt

Key Drivers of IPs

Action research taking into account the real needs of

stakeholders and the facilitation of access to relevant

knowledge and appropriate technologies;

The existence of a permanent framework for consultation

and exchanges; a strong institutional convergence having

fostered the development of networks in the value chain;

A major program of strengthening capacities of actors by

endogenous animators involving a beginning of

professionalization of the sectors;

The promotion of innovations and technologies through the

existence of plural and adapted mechanisms.

Perspectives

Based on encouraging results of IPs and

the IAR4D approach across WCA

Scaling up and out IAR4D: CORAF

and its partners are developing a

model for agriculture development

in WCA:

Converging to Innovate (C2I)

Acknowledgements

Régional Economic communities:

Inter-government organisations:

Financial institutions :

Technical institutions :

Continental

Merci pour votre aimable attention, Thank You