ET_2012_R&P_Partnerships

= 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 **

Partnerships - how to find a fit with Africa RISING?
//In this session, external participants joined the Africa RISING teams to work further one each phase of the research framework and then presented the results of their group work.//

**Summary** // : //
 * // On situational analysis: build trust and legitimacy, focus on existing knowledge, identify farming constraints looking at farming systems, keep a flexible approach with a participatory focus, remain representative of the community, facilitate the process well. //
 * // On integrated systems improvement: systems thinking is hard and requires diversity; Africa RISING is complementary to other USAid projects and considers natural resource management (albeit from some distance); it looks at crop-livestock-tree interactions, possibly following sequencing (e.g. legumes --> fertilizer trees --> maize --> livestock). //
 * // On scaling and dissemination: We're looking at best practices based on tech inventory/capacity building/diagnostic; Scaling up remains a challenge (because we follow an integrated approach), country buy-in is critical, as is demand-driven approach but various activities could help such as brochures, farmer training centers, visits to model/best farmers, farmer field days etc. //


 * What are we scaling up/out?
 * Best practices (packages)
 * List of available but not validated technologies
 * Activities:
 * Technology inventory (what where, why was it adopted or not)
 * Capacity building: Making the scaling up process more sustainable - but how?
 * Diagnostic (literature review and identifying gaps)
 * Challenges of upscaling:
 * Integrated systems approach
 * Overall system improvement
 * Technologies,
 * Adoption
 * Collaboration with all stakeholders
 * Approaches:
 * Country buy-in initiative: government plans and GP guidelines
 * Demand-driven - problems to be addressed should come from end users and go to them.
 * REFLAC: (research extension farmer linkage advisory council) would be a great platform to discuss plans and achievements
 * Methods:
 * Brochures
 * Farmers' training centers
 * Models
 * Visits to model / best farmers
 * Decentralised farmer field days


 * Discussion**:

Situation analysis and programme-wide synthesis

 * The selection of woredas is based on dominant cropping system (20% wheat system)
 * We want to have a participatory approach to identify indicators that fit the situation
 * What is the output of the situation analysis? Get semi-homogeneous groups
 * Farming system-based
 * Farmers don't know what they don't know
 * Whom do farmers listen to?
 * Faming system practices
 * Focus on existing knowledge
 * How much on farming / off-farming (time)?
 * Identify constraints to promotions (e.g. farmers telling us what we want) - avoid being prescriptive
 * To build trust / relationship
 * Participatory focus etc.
 * How to include successful farmers in the intervention? Busy and successful farmers busy and difficult to get!
 * Depends on your approach and facilitation
 * DAs: are they part of the system?
 * Flexible approach
 * Representative of the community
 * Facilitation is critical
 * Access to technology (adoption)
 * Enumerators ; how to prioritize ?
 * Tools: FEAST, AKT5 software... Some of these tools can be used flexibly.

Integrated systems improvement
Starting points: Discussion:
 * Subsistence vs. market orientation
 * Novel extension approaches
 * Systems thinking is hard because of complex interactions
 * This can be done at farm level but with reference to value chains
 * It complements the Mission work on value chains
 * Work at the edge (represented in dashed ways) e.g. lots of existing work on aflatoxin won't replicate
 * Diversity? You can look at it obliquely but it's not a major emphasis of this project
 * QPM
 * Good to share results of Quick Win projects
 * The scope of the research project is deliberately limited:
 * Research-wise it is about 'farming systems integration'
 * Africa RISING complements nutrition, VC work of USAid mission
 * What about NRM? Is it part of farming system integration? What about land degradation continuum and indicators related to it?
 * The absence of NARS is a worry: there has been a lot of involvement in project development
 * Crop-livestock interactions:
 * CA/livestock
 * Restricting livestock grazing
 * Pigeon pea on bunds - multiple uses
 * Lack of emphasis on natural resource degradation
 * Sequencing: legumes --> fertilizer trees --> maize --> livestock.
 * We need to approach our projects in an integrated manner, looking at the different livelihood aspects mentioned above.

Scaling and delivery

 * What are we scaling up/out?
 * Best practices (packages)
 * List of available but not validated technologies
 * Activities:
 * Technology inventory (what where, why was it adopted or not)
 * Capacity building: Making the scaling up process more sustainable - but how?
 * Diagnostic (literature review and identifying gaps)
 * Challenges of upscaling:
 * Integrated systems approach
 * Overall system improvement
 * Technologies,
 * Adoption
 * Collaboration with all stakeholders
 * Approaches:
 * Country buy-in initiative: government plans and GP guidelines
 * Demand-driven - problems to be addressed should come from end users and go to them.
 * REFLAC: (research extension farmer linkage advisory council) would be a great platform to discuss plans and achievements
 * Methods:
 * Brochures
 * Farmers' training centers
 * Models
 * Visits to model / best farmers
 * Decentralised farmer field days