Initial brief/feedback from the review team for Africa RISING mid-term external review in Chitedze, Malawi on 16 March 2015

1. AFRICA RISING
EAST AND SOUTHERN AFRICA
EXTERNAL REVIEW
TANZANIA AND MALAWI
Briefing 16th March 2015
Jim Ellis-Jones, Colletah Chitsike & Jean Ndikumana

2. Brief content
• Review process and purpose
• Africa RISING and ESA implementation strategy
• Four research outputs
– Babati, Kongwa & Kiteto, Dedza & Ncheu
• Communication, data collection and use
• Partnerships and management
• Human resource capacity
• Contribution to humid tropics CRPs
• Brief conclusions and next steps

3. Review process and purpose
Process
• Literature review
• Email/skype/telephone
discussions
• Field visits
Purpose of this brief
• Overview of initial
assessment
• Especially challenges, way
forward and opportunities
• Still to come
– Recommendations
– Prioritisation

4. Achievements
• An impressive range of partnerships
• Platforms initiated
• Output 2: Integrated Systems Improvement
– Impressive bio-physical activities
– Some good science with some scaling out (R&D)
– Mother-baby-grandaughters/spillovers
– Participatory methods

5. Implementation strategy - framework
Challenges
• No initial framework
– Jump starts
– Process project
• Programme framework
emerged
• ESA project
– Three variations
– Each with its own strengths
Way forward
• Update ESA framework
• Clearer definition of
Outputs and activities
• Revisit indicators
– Identify / confirm baselines
– Targets
– Milestones
• Theory of change approach
• Think through conditions

6. Implementation strategy -IPs
Challenges
• R4D-IPs intended to
facilitate community
engagement (inc. gender),
joint planning,
implementation and
learning
• R4D-IPs are not just
dissemination mechanisms
but contribute to demand
led research (demand-led)
Way forward
• Provide facilitation of R4D-Ips
– Monitor &learn
• Strengthen linkages from
District (strategic) to
Village/community levels
(operational)
• Agendas/plans need to reflect
and build on learning cycles
• Value chain analysis to inform
interventions, plans & action
research

7. Implementation strategy- scaling
pathways
Challenges
• Recognise role of existing
farmer groups and
community networks
• Where is the social science
• Recognition of the
importance of gender to
improving livelihoods – both
men & women & youth
Way forward
• Institutional analysis to
identify and support CBOs
• Facilitate farmer-to farmer
extension
• Map, monitor and assess
babies and granddaughters-
spill overs
– Who, what, how, why, when,
achievements, challenges &
lessons

8. RO1: Situation analysis and programme
wide synthesis
Challenges
• Base-lines
• Farmer characterisation
• Inventory of technologies
• Ex-ante economic analysis
• Establish R4D IPs
• Work with community
priorities
• Where is gender?
Way forward -platforms
• Clarify R4D purposes,
partner roles, and agendas
– Learning cycle
• Develop links from District
to community
• Ensure farmer
representation
• Need for facilitation,
monitoring and learning

9. RO2: Systems improvement –cereal-legumes
(genetic intensification, management incl Alfasafe)
Challenges
• Timely arrival of inputs/
compensation
• Soil erosion
• Socio-economic evaluation
including gender (not just
modelling)
• Input availability/affordability
– Seed, fertiliser, inoculant
• Marketing constraints
• Silo effect & overlap with
other research
Way forward
• Step wise recommendations
– Low, medium and high
• Map and learn from
adoption pathways
• Value chain analysis to
inform future
• Utilisation of dambos
• Link with national platforms
• Other crops ?– potatoes,
sunflowers, cotton, tobacco

10. RO 2- Crops, vegetables only Babati
Challenges
• Seed availability
• Processing
Way forward
• CB seed production
• QDS for local sales
• Link with TOSCI

11. RO2: Livestock –fodder establishment
Challenges
• Use of FEAST
• Trees and fodder legumes
unsuitable for high altitudes
• Napier disease in bulking
nurseries
• Farmer selection – wants to
remove napier
• What happened to forage
choppers and balers
Way forward
• Need for feeding trials
– Build on existing groups
• Ensure other management
aspects addressed
– Housing
– Health
• Integrate with other SI
research activities
• Value chain analysis (dairy in
Malawi)
• Need to address
mechanisation issues

12. RO2: NR management
Challenges
• Long term nature of
landscape research
• Research/demos for
awareness raising
• Conflicts between crop
farmers and pastoralists
• Intense rainfall events can
destroy all SWC structures
• Free grazing during dry
season
Way forward
• Need for short term
recommendations
– Fertliser and agronomy
packages
– Contour intervals/length
– Maintenance needs
• Rain water harvesting demos
• Policy briefs for stakeholders
at all levels
– Decision maker support for
bye-laws

13. RO2: Post harvest
Challenges
• Mechanisation
affordability/availability /
ownership /maintenance
issues
• Scaling up triple bags
– Partial budget analysis
– Availability
• Warehouse & business
management by farmer
groups/individuals
Way forward
• Awareness raising on
aflotoxins
– Incorporation in crop
management practices
• Alfasafe for Malawi

14. RO2: Food nutrition and processing
Challenges
• Need for coordination &
lesson learning across
countries
• High illiteracy rates amongst
young mothers
– Communication tools
Way forward
• Establish baselines for
monitoring and assessing
change
• Develop a comparative
research programme between
Tanzania and Malawi
– Focus on children >2, pregnant
women and different
household categories
• Link SUA, LUANAR, IITA,
AVRDC, with NAFACA-
Tuboreshe Chakula and INVC

15. Cross cutting issues
• Commodity value chain studies
– to identify potential interventions
– Agree at platform level how to address
• Ensure gender and youth issues around
technologies especially labour and utilization are
addressed during participatory evaluation
occasions.
• Ensure data is collected that allows participatory
cost-benefit analysis (including gender) options of
the trials.

16. RO3: Research on scaling approaches
• “Networking Mapping” of babies and
granddaughters/spillovers to establish who,
why, what and modifications found
• Support & learn from scaling approaches
funded by bilateral USAID development
partners (NAFACA and INVC)
• Address farmer requests for “hand outs”
through provision of knowledge and
facilitation by R4D platform facilitation

17. RO4: Monitoring and Evaluation
• Studies on how technology is incorporated
– into existing household livelihoods,
– comparative case studies of household food
allocations, household labour allocations, including
possible hired labour following the uptake of SI.
– Assembling socially & gender disaggregated data on
household participants
• Questioning issues of gender interpreted as
women’s issues and initiating gender research
around technology that does not limit gender to
specific technologies and/or approaches

18. Communication & Knowledge management
• Communication largely targeted at higher
level stakeholders (good PR)
• Need to target other stakeholders, R4D
platform partners (District and Village) and
farmers (establish best methods)
• Improved feedback on research progress /
results and best practice guidelines to
extension & farmers

19. Data collection and use
• Many scientists unaware of AR tools - PMMT
and wiki
• Protocols and capacity building required
– ongoing
• How does CG, NARS and University generated
data be incorporated (or not) into AR’s data
base

20. Partnerships
• Absence of base-line institutional analysis at
project start has meant that many past
experiences may have been missed
• Need to identify partners working in same areas
– Farm Africa in Babati
– INADES in K & K
– TLC in Malawi
– Other research projects in Malawi (SIMLESA, ICRAF,
CIMMYT, CIAT, McK etc).
• Private sector partner representation remains
weak

21. Management
• Address contracting arrangements between
partners to reduce funding delays
• Improving coordination and networking
mechanisms at research sites
• Avoiding “silo” approaches between research and
development partners, regular meetings
• Improving links / communication with ARIs in
Tanzania esp HQ, and DARS in Malawi.
• Greater use of local / regional consultants where
capacity is limited

22. In conclusion
• Well done especially - Output 2
– Lots to build on
– Challenges to be addressed & priorities to be determined
• Main challenges relate to Outputs 1, 3 & 4
• Review team next steps
– Completion of draft report – end March/ early April
– IITA consideration – mid April
– Final report to IITA – end April
Asante Sana & Zikomo

24. An innovation systems approach
24
Knowledge generation
Demand - pull
Farmers
Putting knowledge into use
Information
market
Stakeholders
NGOs
Extension
Traders
Processors
Financiers
Communication
Others
Supply - push

25. Local
participants
R&D
Organisations
Bringing partners together
Phase 1: Engaging with
stakeholders
Phase 2: Planning,
learning and assessing
Phase 3: Ensuring
sustainability
Interest
Collaboration
Ownership
Leadership
Leadership
Facilitation
Backstopping
Private
Sector
Interest
Collaboration
Commercial
opportunity
and farmer
support
Time
Innovation Platform

26. Consider
options
Exchange
visits
Participatory Research and Extension Approach
Entering
community
build trust
Identifying
local organ-
isations
Raising
awareness
Identifying
needs &
problems
Feedback
To
community
Training
Technical
backstopping
Training
mid-
Season
evaluation
Training
Planning
for next
learning
cycle
PREA
Learning Cycle
PREA Training
MIRACLE
Prioritising
needs and
problems
Action
planning
Searching
for
solutions
Mandating
local
institutions
Trying
out new
ideas
End of
season review
and process
monitoring

27. Researcher
Input
supplier/trader
Extension Officer
Farmers’ group
(CBO)
Lead farmer
Other farmers
Seed farmer
Secondary farmers
CV

28. Years
Y2Y1 Y3 Y4 Y5
PREA process
Africa
RISING

29. STRUCTURES OF THE DAESS
District Agric.
Committee
committees committee Committee
DEC
AEC
DAECC
District Stakeholder
Panel
ADC
VDC
Community/
village
Entry point for planning
& implementation for interventions eg.
Eg ; Model Village, clusters +
Farmer business school
Lead farmer
DISTRICT ASSEMBLY
Area Stakeholder
Panel
Agricultural
show

30. Woreda
Strategic
Innovation
Platform
(A4D)
Kebele
Operational
IP
FG 1
Innovation
clusters
FG 3
FG
2
FG5
FG 4
Kebele
Operational
IP
Kebele 1
Kebele 2
FG
FG
Farmer
Groups
FG
Commodity value chain IP
Technical Goup