"Agricultural intensification, value chain
development and human capacity
strengthening: How can we build these
Together"
Kindu Mekonnen
ILRI, Addis Ababa, 21 July 2014

Contents of the presentation
1. Concepts/ definitions
2. Global challenges
3. Why IVCCD?
4. Achieving IVCCD
4.1. Partnership
4.2. Understanding systems
4.3. R4D intervention options
4.4. Documentation and scaling best bet options
4.5. Communication
5. Lessons from earlier project initiatives

1. Concepts/ definitions
Intensification:
• producing more units of output per units of all inputs and
through new combinations of inputs and related innovations.
Value chain:
• a network of different functions or stages from production to
consumption, including all supplementary support services.
Capacity development:
• A locally driven process of transformational learning that leads to
actions, which support changes in institutional capacity areas to
advance development goals.

2. Global challenges
• Population increase
(World: 8.3- 10.9 billon
and SSA –2 billon
people in 2050)
• Climate change
• Resources scarcity
• Energy demand High youth population at a small village in Wolaita,
Southern Ethiopia

2. Why IVCCD?-Current situations- Africa
• Increasing food demand
(African meet 13% of the
continent’s food needs by
2050)
• Land is degrading (75% of the
total in SSA)
• Stagnant yields for some crops
(< 1 ton ha-1)
Soil nutrient depletion in central
Ethiopia
Poor barley crop performance in
central Ethiopia

• Feed scarcity (Average deficit
in 2009 in Ethiopia= 45.64
million t DM yr-1)
• Competing uses of resources
(grazing land, crop residues)
• Farm-to-market links are
weak
• High rates of hunger and
malnutrition

4. Achieving IVCCD-Linkage and integration
Outputs Inputs
Agricultural Intensification)
Value chain development (crop
and livestock enterprises) Capacity
development
Inputs
Production
Storage
Processing
Marketing
Indirect:
Food
Nutrition
Income
Direct:
Land
Water
Labour
Chemicals, OM
Biodiversity
Financial capital
Knowledge
Infrastructure
Technology
Market
Policy, Institutions

4.1. Partnership
Potential partners:
• Research orgs
• Higher learning
Institutions
• Extension
• NGOs
• Framers
Crop pest and diseases control service provider in the
rural areas of BasonaWorena, Amhara
• Market actors/traders/ service providers

Scale of partnership: Local, regional, national and global level with
d/t roles and responsibilities
Examples of successful partnership: ILRI-UNEP-WU CC adaptation
Kabe watershed project
UNEP – Overall oversight of the projects and linking to donors
ILRI- Provide technical support and link UNEP and Wollo University
WU- Lead the implementation of the project at the landscape scales
in collaboration with ILRI, SARC and extension + capacity building
SARC (ARARI) - action research
WoreiluWereda Office of Agriculture - community Mobilization

Land-care with mass mobilization in Kabe watershed, Amhara

4.2. Understanding systems
• Constraints, farm typologies and opportunities in relation to
Scale:
• Farm level
• Landscape
• Watershed
A woman farmer showing how bacterial wilt disease has
become serious at her farm in Lemo, SNNPR
IVCCD

Tools/approaches:
• RTS (Rapid telephone
survey)
• PCA (Participatory
Community Analysis)
• SLATE (Sustainable
Livelihood Assets
Evaluation)
• AKT5 (Agro-ecological
Knowledge Toolkit )
• VCA (Value chain
assessment)
Wealth ranking during PCA exercise in Bale

Examples of diagnostic results that required IVCCD interventions:
Example 1. Africa RISING sites
Priority crop related constraints:
• Shortage of quality improved seeds
• Weeds, diseases and insects and storage pests
• Lack of improved farm tools
• Inadequate soil and water management practices
• Poor storage facilities
• High input and low output prices

Priority livestock related constraints:
• Feed shortage (quality and quantity)
• Poor vet services and vaccines
• Labour consuming milk processing
• Decline of grazing lands
• Diseases, internal and external parasites
• Price fluctuation for live animals
• Shortage of water during the dry periods

Example 2. SLP project sites in east Africa
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Kobo Nekemte Kakamega
soil fertility decline
high inputs/low outputs price
and inputs unavailability
lack of information/services
problem of weeds, pests and
diseases
rainfall/drought problem
Occurrence in 8 villages
Main constraints of crop production in 3 east African countries

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Kobo Nekemte Kakamega
lack of services and
trainings
high cost of cbs/ other
inputs
feed shortage
diseases and parasites
Occurrence in 8 villages
Main constraints of livestock production in 3 east African countries

Example 3. African Highlands Initiative (AHI) project in the
Ethiopian highlands
Water
Degradation
High
Run-Off
Indigenous
Tree Loss
Spring
Development
Soil & Water
Conservation
Niche-Compatible
Afforestation
Integrated
watershed
Management
Problem Integrated Solution
Cluster 1. Soil and water management cluster

Problem Integrated Solution
Seed Crop Germplasm, Husbandry,
Soil
Fertility
Fuel
Feed
Markets & Integrated
Nutrient Management
Energy Sources &
Efficiency
Income
Feed, Genotypes
& Income
Cluster 2. Integrated production and nutrient management cluster

4.3. R4D intervention options
Time frame:
• Short-term- entry
points
• Mid-term
• Long-term

20
Upstream
Upstream
Midstream
Downstream
Targets/social groups:
• Gender
• Wealth
• Sex
• Watershed/Landscape
positions
• Collective action (SWC)
• Trans boundary issues
(forests, water, grazing land)

Research:
• Action
• Empirical
• Strategic
• Exploratory
Side view of a landscape level SWC at
Galessa, AHI site
Participatory soil and nutrient losses
assessment from 3 land use systems at AHI
site in Galessa, Ethiopia.
• Fallow land = 30 t ha-1 yr-1
• Cultivated land with soil
bund = 23 t ha-1 yr-1
• Cultivated land without
soil bund = 40 t ha-1 yr-1

Locations:
• Farm- Action research
• FTC- Empirical research
• Research and University plots - Empirical research
• School and church compounds- Empirical research
• Communal land- Action research

Approach:
• IPs
• FRGs
• FFS
Scaling: zonal, regional and national level ?

• Tree FRG in
Wolmera, Holetta
and Dendi – Ginchi,
Central Ethiopia
• Gully rehabilitation
FRG- Galessa,
Central Ethiopia

Examples of Africa RISING project R4D interventions
Forage development
Vetch
Oat
Involvement of local partners in
protocol development and their
implementation- how to improve
it?

Improved crop varieties
(wheat, potato and faba
bean)

Examples of integrated and intensified crop production from AHI
project in the highlands of Ethiopia
Potato varieties
Storage- DLS
Maket
Food security

Examples of intensified livestock husbandry from AHI project in the
highlands of Ethiopia
Oat varieties
Tree lucerne
Cross breed cows Milk processing for consumption & income

29
Examples of water related
interventions in ILRI-UNEPWU project
at Kabe watershed, Amhara (digital
stories)

Examples of Africa RISING capacity development approaches
• Trainings
• Cross-site visits
• Field days
• Workshops/
learning events
• Student attachment
Farmers research groups identification at Jewe, Africa RISING
kebele in Lemo, SNNPR
• Gap assessment and filling of local partner institutions

Examples of Africa RISING value chain development approach
• Selection of cross cutting VC enterprises across AR sites- (crop-wheat,
fababean and potato) and (livestock- dairy cattle, beef
cattle and sheep)
• Mapping of VC actors and service providers
• Rapid assessment of VC actors and service providers
• Sampling and interviewing of selected actors and service
providers
• Develop VC interventions (7 crop and livestock related
interventions)

4.4. Documentation and scaling best bet options
Documentation:
• Processes
• lessons
Scaling:
• Site level
• Project level-on
line
• Out scaling (horizontal scaling up)
• Up scaling (vertical scaling up)
Strengthen
through training
• Within or beyond
Africa RISING sites?
• Scaling strategies
• Targets

4.5. Communication
• How to pack and make available information to various end
users – from farmers to policy makers?
Some Tools:
• Posters
• Brochures
• Briefs
• Digital stories
• Videos
• Publications
Access:
• Online
• Knowledge center
• Local language- farmers

5. Lessons from earlier project initiatives and Africa RISING project
• Identification of the categories of farmers that have common
interest/s - to target their needs, contributions and decisions.
• Reflection/feed backing/evaluation at different levels of the
research-to improve approaches and actions.
• Farming communities and local admin express their commitments
when R&D partners work with them on priority issues.
• Interventions that give immediate benefits to the farming
communities (e.g. improved crop varieties) – NRM agenda.

• Linking the high value produces to the market – benefit
communities - encourage them to participate in d/t R&D
initiatives.
• Project exist strategies – sustainability of R&D efforts.
• Documentation of processes and lessons – share experiences to
practitioners
• Integration challenges – capacity of supporting institutions
• Data sharing/data base issues – staff turnover dynamism

Thank you for listening!!