Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Farming Systems for Food Security across Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLES

1. Sustainable Intensification of Maize Legume Farming Systems for Food Security across Eastern and Southern AfricaSIMLESA 2010-2018Mulugetta Mekuria, Daniel Rodriguez. John Dixon and Paswel Marenyaon behalf of Team SIMLESASIMLESA Africa RISING WorkshopMarch 2018Arusha Tanzaniawww.simlesa.cimmyt.org

2. Outline The problem Program structure Scope Themes Systems research Research methods Theory of change Impact pathway Highlights

3. The problem • Working with CA and farmers’ resources • Seed systems Market failure and lack of enabling institutions support the idea of empowering communities along economic corridors SI increased food availability though smaller farms and large households likely to remain food insecure Low yielding rainfed systems, low return to labour Policy; collective action through IPs; CGS to initiate scaling Medium to high climate variability, high vulnerability, high risk aversion , and lack of labour Weak institutions, low prices, high costs, lack of the right inputs at the right time in the right place Lack of incentives & capacity to invest in costly& uncertain technologies Strong need to sell crops at harvest time Crop production confined to the rainy season Seasonal poverty & malnutrition Large diversity of household situations, significant trade-offs between limited resources (labour, cash, land, biomass); need for diversification of livelihoods Diversification into cash crops and livestock

4. SIMLESA focus & targets Vision of success • To increase maize and legume yields by 30% while sustaining the environment through: • Conservation agriculture principles • Improved maize and legume varieties • Livestock integration and feed systems • Development of markets and value chains, from input supplies to output markets. • 2. To reduce downside yield risks by 30% • 3. To benefit 650,000 farm householdswithin 10 years of project completion.

5. SIMLESA regions Major farming systems in:EthiopiaKenyaTanzania MalawiMozambiqueAnd three spill-over countriesBotswanaRwandaUganda

6. SIMLESA regions and Australian analogues

7. SIMLESA partnership • Lead by CIMMYT • Phase 1: 2010 – 2013 • Phase 2: 2014 – 2018 • In partnership with: • EIAR, KARI, DRD, DARS, IIAM, NARO, RAB, DARMurdoch University, QAAFI, ARC, ASARECA, ICRISAT, ILRI, CIAT, CCARDESA (phase2), ACIAR

8. Systems research • Mixed farming systems • Strong maize – legume component & livestock integration • Emphasis at field and whole farm levels, plus community • Recognition of the diverse nature of households • Empowering diverse local & international partners • Multi-stakeholder private – private – NGO – CSO • 6 Is- Integration – Innovation – Impact – Information – Inputs and Institutions • Scaling based on innovation systems approaches and comp • Competitive grant schemes - CGS

9. SIMLESA themes

10. SIMLESA structure

11. SIMLESA research structure Research structure OBJECTIVES • Objective 1 • DIAGNOSIS • Objective 2 • TESTING • FARMER EXPERIMENTATION • Objective 3 • SCALING SEED AVAILABILITY • Objective 4 • PROCESS SCALING • Objective 5 • CAPACITY BUILDING

12. SIMLESA themes & teams Themes Teams DISCIPLINES SYSTEMS INTEGRATION • Initial diagnostics • Surveys & typologies • Adoption pathways Economics, econometrics, household modelling and anthropology • CA principles • Livestock integration • On farm demonstrations • Long term trials Agronomy, livestock nutrition, forage agronomy, soils, crop & household modelling GENDER MAINSTREAMING SYSTEMS MODELLING • Seed systems Seed business development • Innovation platforms • Input & output markets • Institutions & policy Anthropology, economics • Capacity building All above

13. SIMLESA Objective 1: To enhance the understanding of CA-based intensification options for production systems, value chains and impact pathways Phase 1 Phase 2

14. SIMLESA Objective 2: Testing CA systems across agro-ecologies CA Maize/bean intercrops & rotations; Maize/cowpea intercrops & rotations; Maize /pigeon pea intercrops Embu: Maize /bean intercropping Embean twin row systems Maize /bean intercropping genotypes Maize/ pigeon pea intercrops: Mid-altitude: Maize-soybean rotations; CA dibble stick systems; Lowlands: Maize-pigeon pea intercrops and groundnuts rotations Maize-soybean rotations/ intercrops; raised bed CA basins/dibble stick systems Maize-cowpea rotations/ intercrops CA basins/dibble stick systems

15. Germplasm for climate smart farming systems Stress tolerant maize, legumes & forages SIMLESA Objective 3: Seed systems • More than 50 new drought tolerant maize varieties released • 64 varieties of cowpeas, pigeon pea, and haricot beans.

16. SIMLESA Objective 4: Innovation platforms and scaling • Assess the contexts, select suitable technologies: SIMLESA I • political, regulatory, economic, social/cultural, technological, institutional (NARS) • constraints, opportunities (baseline) • Innovate to fit: tailor CA-based options i.e. trials, PVS – SIMLESA I • AIP-based learning for CA portfolios, social equity • Develop support: policies, institutions, buy-in – SIMLESA II • Engage next-user groups: handover – advanced AIP practice, CGS – SIMLESA II • Devolve efforts, (to) spread SIMLESA innovation • Transfer benefits e.g. apply lessons for climate smart practice • Institutionalisation – regular application through co-investments

17. SIMLESA Objective 4: Innovation platforms and scaling- reaching > 3 million house holds with estimated 30% adoption of SI practices

18. SIMLESA Objective 5: Capacity building • Post graduate training: 23 PhDs 22 MSc (ADS and ACIAR and ARC) • On the job trainings for NARS partners in Australia, South Africa and in country. • Strong science outputs: 122 publications, 52 posters, 15 policy briefs, training manuals • Communication products including national level media coverages at NARS • National, regional and international conference, participation by partners

19. Research methods

20. The SIMLESA Conceptual Framework

21. SIMLESA impact pathway

22. SIMLESA theory of change

24. Regional impact targets

25. Impact targets (cont.)

26. Impact targets (cont.)

27. Scaling out - target communities

28. Adopters by country, households

29. Technology adoption, households

30. Scaling up/out strategies By whom? How? Participatory action research with farmers Innovation platforms Farmer to farmer exchange – farmer champions Demonstrations Farmer field days Farmer groups Trial packs ICT (Radio, TV, etc) • Seed roadmap • Partner NGOs • Partner extension systems • Partner seed companies • Partner farmer organizations • CBOs • etc

31. What to scale up/out? Promising new varieties CA components Planting system (spacing etc) Fertilizer application Weed control Soil & water management Legume rotations/ intercropping Minimum tillage (?) Residue retention(?) • Maize hybrids • Maize OPVs • Pigeonpea varieties • Soybean varieties • Bean varieties • Groundnut varieties Institutional innovations • Farmer targeting tools (typologies) • Farmer marketing groups • Link to credit and insurance providers • Post-harvest practices

32. Pathway for CA technologies Guiding principles • Identify key entry points • Expected returns (profitability and risk) • Market access/linkages • Adoptability • Build on existing farmer knowledge • Opportunity cost of land and labor • Engage local partners • Differentiated strategy for different sites

33. Impact: Crop yields

34. What was achieved: Leadership and coordination skills for GFP strengthened Identification of core activities for gender integration Development of M&E Indicators Gender capacity strengthening strategy developed by ARC Gender in Communication Impact: Gender Integration to R4D activities

35. Impact: Financial benefits With larger benefits when multiple innovations are adopted

36. Lessons on SI from SIMLESA Systems research & development – beyond disciplinary components; Large diversity of circumstances affecting feasible SI options within and across regions and countries; Benefits and trade-off of alternative interventions determine scaling options; Combination of field research and modelling analyses assessing SI contributions to yield and risk management; Difficulty by NARS understanding the implications of risk in the adoption of SI; The need to avoid intensification without sustainability i.e. the risk of unsustainable intensification; Understanding diversity to fine tune targeting at multiple levels, e.g. field, farm, community, country; The value of multilevel consultation in participatory approaches; The value of diversity of partnerships and disciplines.

37. Scaling framework and scaling partners available from inception stages • Deepening research on institutional failures, market failures and policy & political failures • Quality field data on soil (the above below ground dilemma, “not seen not considered”) • How come SIMLESA and Africa RISING haven’t met before, idem N2Africa, TL3? • Larger effort on crop livestock integration • Timing of data flows into analysis and from analysis into extension and communication systems • Critical mass on systems analysis, e.g. African Centre of Excellence on Systems Research, located in East Africa with hubs in West and North Africa Missed opportunities

38. SIMLESA III Balancing efforts across: incremental and transformational; commodities and livelihoods; field, farm, community, and economic corridor levels

39. SIMLESA III From coping to resilience , G x E x M x F

40. Thank you