Why and how to implement a AR&D
approach for Africa RISING?
Preliminary results of a fast-track project
Africa RISING Planning Meeting, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 17-18 September 2012
Diego Valbuena (SLP-ILRI), Jens Andersson, Ann Waters-Bayer (ETC), Frédéric Baudron
(CIMMYT), Edward Chuma (Pico Team), Tesfaye Sida (Ambo University), Peter Thorne (ILRI),
Beth Cullen (ILRI), Katrien Descheemaeker (Wageningen University), Jenny Aker (Tufts
University), Sieg Snapp (Michigan State University), Bruno Gérard (CIMMYT)

some principles
Demand-led: whose demand?
farmer-led others-led
FF AR&D FSR ToT
Diversity: but farmers are not the same …
System perspective: farming depends on where & where
Participation: background, engagement & better targeting

AR&D: implementation
Site selection &
description
Diversity Impact Sharing
description assessment lessons
Identification Institutional &
of options technological work
M&E

AR&D: implementation
Step 0
Step 1 Step 5 Step 4
Step 2 Step 3
M&E

AR&D: site selection & description
Step 0
• Engage stakeholders
• Understand farming systems
Step 1 • Understand 5
Step major options &
Step 4
constraints
by:
• Stakeholder discussions
• Step 2 Step 3
Baseline survey (M&E)
• Institutional analysis
M&E

AR&D: diversity description
Step 0 • Select target groups
• Understand diversity in assets,
activities, strategies & aspirations
Step 1 • Step 5 Step 4
Identify major options & constraints
by:
• Farmers discussions
• Construction of typologies
Step 2 Step 3
• Quantitative analysis (baseline
survey) M&E

AR&D: identification of options
• Identify basket of best-fit technologies (labour,
Step 0
capital, risk, etc.)
• Identify methods for institutional work
by: 1
Step Step 5 Step 4
• Stakeholder discussions
• CGIAR expert knowledge on technologies
• Identification of endogenous technologies
Step 2 Step 3
M&E

AR&D: institutions & technologies
•Step 0
Select interests groups to test technologies
• On-farm testing of technologies
• Work on institutional processes
by: 1
Step Step 5 Step 4
• “Market of technologies”
• “Local” M&E
• Innovation platforms
Step 2 Step 3
M&E

AR&D: sharing lessons
Step 0
• Identify and bring lessons to a
larger community (other
Step 1 Step 5 Step 4
stakeholders)
by:
• “Village market of technologies”
• “Regional market of2technologies”Step 3
Step
M&E

AR&D: impact assessment
Step 0
Step 1 Step 5 Step 4
• Determine whether this AR&D process
brought about positive changes on farmers
(Africa RISING and stakeholder indicators)
Step 2 Step 3
by:
• Household surveys M&E
• Stakeholder discussions

AR&D: impact assessment
• Step 0
Monitor:
• who participated
• what technologies of combination they
Stepselected
1 Step 5 Step 4
• why they selected them
• impact of these technologies in overall farm
productivity
Step 2 Step 3
• Link basket of technologies and institutions
M&E