Presented by I. Hoeschle-Zeledon at the Africa RISING East and Southern Africa annual review and planning meeting, Lilongwe, Malawi, 3-5 September 2013

1. From Arusha to Lilongwe
Africa RISING East and Southern
Africa year 2 overview
I. Hoeschle-Zeledon, IITA
Africa RISING East and Southern Africa annual review and planning meeting,
Lilongwe, Malawi, 3-5 September 2013

2.  Year 1: 10 quick win projects to
- do preparatory work for longer term research
- establish partnerships
- learn lessons
- do thorough identification of sites
- develop the program research framework
 Oct. 2012, Arusha
- Review of quick wins and planning for the future
 Arusha outputs:
- prioritized challenges
- project boundaries
- guiding principles
- Africa RISING’s niche
- research ideas and partners

3.  Seed availability and distribution systems
 Soil fertility
 Pest, disease and weed management
 Agronomic practices (planting periods, spacing,
 crop mixtures, soil preparation)
 Conservation of natural resources (soil & water)
 Post-harvest handling (value addition, utilization,
processing equipment)
 Markets (access, organization, opportunities, niches )
 Institutions : IPs, FOs, networks (partnerships,
conflict management)
 Livestock (husbandry, breeds,
pasture mgmt., feeds, health, processing)
Prioritized challenges for Africa RISING in ESA
pests
soil degradation
oil degradation
post-harvest
livestock/crop conflicts
residues
nutrient mgmt.

4.  Information and communication
 Capacity building
 Situation analysis (RO1): final site selection,
baseline surveys, farming systems analysis
(to be carried out simultaneously with RO2 activities)
Prioritized challenges for Africa RISING in ESA

5.  We all work on the selected sites in the three countries
 We focus on the Research Framework and its four Research Outputs
 We adopt selected Feed the Future Indicators
Boundaries

6.  Intervention domain is the farm household
 Sustainable intensification: producing more output from the same
area of land while reducing negative environmental impacts and
increasing contributions to natural capital and environmental services
 Stepwise approach towards SI
 Targeting different household typologies with different resources and
livelihood objectives
 R4D platforms for cooperation and co-learning
 Critical entry points:
(i) technologies for productivity enhancement, for natural resources
management (NRM), for income generation, for knowledge
management
(ii) innovations related to social and institutional arrangements
(iii) combination
Guiding principles

7. 1. Crops/Shrubs/Trees
3. Livestock2. Soil/Water
1. Crop
2. Soil
3. Livestock
4. Crop Soil √
5. Crop Livestock √
6. Soil Livestock √
7. Crop Soil Livestock √
4 5
6
7
Africa RISING’s Niche-Integrated Research
markets,
gender,
policies,…

8. Summary Bekunda
“There are lots of ideas on the floor and not everything
can be implemented due to resource restrictions. Who is
doing what in details remains to be seen, however the
ideas formulated will help generate terms of reference to
develop the actual work plans.
Some of the activities proposed will be undertaken this
season while others will be implemented in subsequent
years.”
Meeting report:
http://cgspace.cgiar.org/handle/10568/24668

9.  Formation of research teams for each site and
identification of lead partner and collaborators
 Development of research proposals in participatory
manner
 Submission of proposals to IITA
 Approval by Steering Committee
 Contracts and fund disbursement
 Star of field implementation (January)
 Workshop on survey instrument for baseline surveys
(January)
 Workshop on research design (March)
Post-Arusha activities

10.  Malawi (MSU, Regis Chikowo)
 Tanzania
- semi-arid site (Kongwa/Kiteto, ICRISAT, Patrick Okori)
- sub-humid site (Babati, IITA, Mateete Bekunda)
- irrigated rice-systems (Kilombero, AfricaRice, Jonne
Rodenburg)
 Cross-countries (WU for Farming Systems Analysis, Jeroen
Groot)
Research teams and leaders

11. Year 2: Start of longer-term research activities at
selected intervention sites
Tanzania, Babati district:
Sabilo, Long, Seloto villages
Tanzania, Kongwa district:
Chitego, Moleti, Mlala villages
Kiteto district: Njoro village
Malawi, Dedza district:
Linthipe, Golomoti EPAs;
Ntcheu district: Kandeu,
Nsipe EPAs
sub-humid semi-arid semi-arid to humid

12. Tanzania action sites
Sites represent agro-ecologies that
define specific agricultural potentials,
and covering a minimum of 200
households.
Babati: Sabilo, Long, Seloto villages
Kongwa: Chitego, Moleti, Mlala villages
Kiteto: Njoro village
Others: added next season

13. Malawi action sites
Sections (representing different agro-ecologies):
Golomoti Center, Golomoti EPA, Dedza
Mposa, Linthipe EPA, Dedza
Kampanje, Kandeu EPA, Ntcheu
Mpamadzi, Nsipe EPA, Ntcheu

14. Disbursementofresearchfunds
Institution Amount(US$)
CIMMYT 164,000
ILRI 89,000
CIAT 110,000
ICRISAT 447,000
SELIAN 74,000
AVRDC 93,000
MSU 395,000
WU 188,000 ESA and WA
IITA 454,000

15. Field visit Tanzania, February 2013

16. Field visit Malawi, March 2013

17.  USAID seeks complementarities and synergies
between research and development initiatives
 Co-location of sites in Kongwa/Kiteto (Tanzania)
with NAFAKA (Staples Value Chain program
of FtF Tanzania)
 MoU with NAFAKA
 MoU with INVC (Integrating Nutrition with Value
Chains [groundnuts, soybeans]) project in Malawi
Collaboration with development partners

18.  Plans since AR inception
 Opportunities for synergies with SIMLEZA
(maize-legume systems, objectives)
 Field visits of SIMLEZA sites
 Follow-up meeting in May: potential areas of
collaboration, comparative advantages
 Start of site characterization work to allow
identification of joint sites
 Draft collaborative research proposal prepared
 Upcoming discussion and final decisions
 Opportunities to align with further USAID projects
AR in Zambia

19.  Composition: IITA Reg. Director (chair), USAID, ASARECA,
COSTECH, AfricaRice, M&E, Communication, Chief
Scientist, Project Coordinator (Secretary)
 Meeting: October 2012
Main decisions/suggestions:
- Change of role and name: from Coordination Committee to Steering
Committee (approves work plans and budgets)
- A representative from Malawi should be added to the SC member in year 3
- PA materials are needed
- Program Science Advisory Panel: standing body, independent, to be
established in 2013
Project Steering Committee

20.  Withdrawal of AfricaRice from projects in ESA and WA
 Research site abandoned and team dissolved,
AVRDC, IITA research on vegetables redirected to the
other sites
 No more work on rice-based systems
Kilombero research site

21.  Project M&E specialist (Ainsley Charles, IFPRI, joined in April), based at
Project office, Arusha
 Festos Ngulu (consultant), Tanzania
 Support from IITA admin staff in Dar es Salaam and Lilongwe
 Jeffrey Oliver, Catherine Njuguna, IITA Zambia and Tanzania , part time
communication support
Research Communication specialist for ESA and WA under recruitment
Agricultural Economist for ESA and WA to be recruited
Africa RISING ESA staff update

22. Africa Research in Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation
africa-rising.net