Sustainable Agricultural Intensification Research and Learning in Africa (SAIRLA)

Context

• To meet the global challenge of food security, and in particular to support SSA’s growing population with sufficient and nutritional food, agricultural production must increase.

• Increased production needs to be achieved while at the same time minimizing/ reducing environmental impacts, given challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss etc.

• Social challenges are also key with continuing areas of chronic poverty and rising inequality around the world.

What is Sustainable Agricultural Intensification?

The concept of sustainable agricultural intensification (SAI) has emerged with a generally accepted aim of:– increasing agricultural productivity – while maintaining or improving environmental

sustainability. SAIRLA has a key focus on assessing how SAI can be

developed in ways that enable women and poorer smallholders in Africa to participate in and benefit from agricultural development through SAI approaches

Overall objective• SAIRLA will generate, share and facilitate use

of knowledge by policy makers and investors to develop SAI in ways that enable women and poorer smallholders in Africa to participate in and benefit from agricultural development.

How will SAIRLA work?

The programme will function through two processes: – a competitive research call for grants, – and facilitation of a Learning Alliance between research

organisations and other stakeholders.

Research and learning objective:Commission research and facilitate multi-scale learning to

understand:– different ways of achieving SAI, – their development implications, – and enabling women and poorer smallholders in Africa to

participate and benefit.

When and where will SAIRLA work?

• Five-year programme running from 2015 to 2020• Sub-Saharan Africa with emphasis on 6 countries

– Burkina Faso – Ethiopia – Ghana – Malawi – Tanzania – Zambia

Research Themes

• Social equity and participation of poor smallholders and women

• Use of information sources and tools in development of policy

• Environment/production trade-offs at local to national scale

• Smallholder risk factors and agricultural risk management• Access to marketing information by smallholder and

women• Smallholder sustainability strategies.

Learning Alliance Process

• National level between research projects and stakeholders in sustainable intensification– With a national facilitator– Engaging with a national consultation group

• International level between research projects, national LA facilitators, others in region – Facilitated by NRI (initially)– Engaging with donors and African policy forums

Local Stakeholders:

Including Smallholders

& Women

NationalLocal

Other public and

privateactors

National Consultative

Group

National Learning Alliances

Regional/Continental Global

Humid Tropics

CRP

Regional Initiatives

Vital Signs

Others e.g.

FARA

Africa Rising

Individual SAI Programme Research Projects

International Policy

Sustainable Agricultural Intensification Learning Alliance

DFID

NRI & WYG

Other donors

Research grant process

• Expression of interest call Oct 2015• Orientation to selected EOIs by early 2016• Full proposals contracted end first quarter 2016• Grant recipients integrated into Learning

Alliance (mid 2016)• At least 2, preferably, 3 countries • Approx £5 million for max 8 projects(indications are provisional)

Scoping of target countries

• Objectives:– Inform about SIASSA and it’s objectives– Validation and feedback on research questions– Scope opportunities for national learning alliances

• Contact partner organizations with actions in each country

• Review and visits to each target country – Visit key national and international research actors– Overview of agricultural policy with focus on women and poor – Map out policy forums around agriculture (and environment?)– Identify potential for National Learning Alliance

Refinement of research questions

• Refinement of research questions based on feedback from scoping visits

• Provide context and justification for research questions

• Elaborate greater detail on outputs expected from each research question

Provisional research questions1. How can equity issues be best addressed in sustainable intensification

approaches, policies and tools to ensure that the needs of women and the poorer smallholders are properly addressed?

2. What are the tools and metrics that would help decision-makers create an enabling environment to support women and resource-poor smallholders intensify agricultural enterprises in a way which is both environmentally and financially sustainable?

3. How can the trade-offs between increased production and environmental impact be analysed and managed?

4. What are key risk factors for smallholders in relation to market demand for agricultural products produced in an environmentally sustainable way, and what risk management strategies can be put in place to manage them?

5. What are the options to improve access to market information particularly for women and resource-poor farmers, in the context of sustainable intensification?

6. How do smallholder farmers manage the trade-offs between production and sustainability?

Thank you!