ET_2012_R&P_ProjectStatus

= Ethiopian Highlands Annual Review and Planning meeting = Go back to the event agenda
 * 17-18 September 2012 **
 * Info centre break out room, ILRI Ethiopia, Addis Ababa **

** Presentation by Jerry Glover **
Feed the Future: The focus of the Africa RISING program is on the farm household - but it relates to local landscape/community and regional agricultural development context scales. Management structure with program research framework task force, program coordination team, information/data systems team, communications team and the steering committees for all three 'mega sites' (Guinea Savannah, Ethiopian Highlands, East and Southern Africa).
 * Advancing the productivity frontier
 * Transforming key production systems through sustainable intensification
 * Improving nutrition and food safety


 * Questions & Answers**
 * Q: I am interested to know the bigger picture of this project together with USAID mission, what is the research focus area is it on pulses or ?
 * A: It is not automatic but we are working on the areas of pulses and dairy. The USAID mission or goal is to focus in the value chain approach, one of our key component will be looking at the rotation with integrating pulses in wheat manufacturing system to reduce malnutrition disease problemss


 * Q: To what extent will this project collaborate with National research centers like EIAR and how does it align with national programs?
 * A: In the long run definitely we will involve the national research centers, there are already some quick win projects working with national research centers. In terms of the sites we are working, we have the process to include the EIAR to consult and to work with them. Recently we set up a site selection team to identify the final kebeles, including researchers from the national team. We have ATA, EAIR as our (ILRI) collaborators so we don’t think we will have a problem. We wish to work with other donors but it takes some time specially for team building part

The bigger picture?
 * Align with CAADP priorities
 * Coordination with other donors
 * Align with USAid mission investments
 * Need for focused targets & metrics
 * The impact imperative: what can we do now?
 * An R&D model (coordination, alignment and integration with impact) that is scalable and adaptable.

**Presentation by Peter Thorne:** Africa RISING in the Ethiopian Highlands
The research process: 1) situation analysis and program-wide synthesis to understand the communities, 2) Integrated systems improvement, 3) Scaling and delivery. As we go along the research process we need to feed back into each phase of the process. Characterization, problem identification, modeling, entry points etc. Knowledge and capacity strengthening (e.g. tools to support farmer decision-making), social cohesion (e.g. community innovation to support peer-to-peer learning), technical advances (e.g. integrating pulses into cereal-based systems) and institutional strengthening (e.g. through multi-stakeholder processes to strengthen market function, community-based policy advocacy)...
 * Types of interventions?**

Partnerships with research (CGIAR, NARS, Universities, NGOs), development and other donor initiatives.


 * Questions and answers**:


 * Q: We didn't see the cross cutting issues like climate change, women, etc?
 * A: In the slide I presented it might not be much visible but we have a cross-cutting approach on issues like nutrition, gender etc. we are aware of those issues and how to stimulate them.


 * Q: It seems you lack Ethiopian national research organization representation?
 * A: There is a need to better engage them in the long run. There is also an overlap with the Australian food security council program. The main idea is to have a single project with multiple partnership, we like this approach


 * Q: Does Africa RISING work as one program across all the sub-saharan African countries?
 * A: We are establishing program level research frame work so that all the three projects will use it. For the research they are working in different system, on development program, on an M & E plan to emphasis each project --> We do have a program-wide purpose objective and we have site characterization to ensure there is a link b/n the three mega sites / projects, by having high level indicator, doing impact analysis across region for some of our outcomes


 * Q: How is the capacity of the Africa rising to capitalize on the up scaling towards the government objective?
 * A: We established the framework for three projects to work and align together. We identified how they fit in the process and can be well integrated.


 * Q: Is it basic research or applied research you are engaged in?
 * A: It is applied research, starting really with technologies and methods used with in the communities, we are looking at opportunities to start with easily and to build upon. We didn't develop new technologies, but we can try already existing technologies and scale them up, build upon best practices, linking research, getting farmers to adopt best practices


 * Q: I don’t understand the quick win projects? Are they kind of potential projects under thematic areas?
 * A: We developed the quick wins projects at the end of February, as short term projects that should be successfully completed this year, to build partnership, to identify some constraints, to get some results. The demand encompasses multiple partners (including national partners). Quick win projects were meant to improve the overall activities of the system than improve one commodity. Reducing malnutrition and poverty is the mission of Feed The Future.


 * Q: I need a clarification, as to scale up, there is something we need to scale up; are we saying that both technical and financial inputs are up for being scaled up.?
 * A: We don't have enough money that we can put for Africa rising but we support market opportunities to scale up, engage with USAid country mission's ideas to feed in to the Feed The Future mission. The project mapping tool we carried out in February (and which has been updated by IFPRI in the meantime) is pretty useful to see who is doing what, know what activities are going on and share the best practices