Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
N2Africa-Ethiopia Exit Strategy
Draft for further developments
Birhan Abdulkadir
ILRI
N2Africa-Ethiopia Partners’ Progress Review Meeting, ILRI, Addis Ababa
30 November-1 December 2017

Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
Rationale
• Exit Strategy helps to ensure the sustainability of program/project
impacts after it ends (Sustainability Plan).
• Key words (Sustainability & Exit)
– Sustainability
• Persistence of impacts (and sometimes activities) among project partners/collaborators,
stakeholders (participants)
• Diffusion of impacts to new geographic areas.
– Exit
• Withdrawal of externally provided resources from an entire project area
• From specific activities to….
• Purpose...
– To know how N2Africa-Ethiopia intends to withdraw its resources while ensuring
that achievement of the project objectives are not risked and that progress
towards the vision of success will continue.

Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
Focal areas/ Drivers of N2Africa Exit Strategy
to ensure that activities
to enhance production
and productivity of
legume crops are fully
integrated into the
national structures
to ensure sustainable
input supply
to support information
and knowledge sharing
platform among
partners

Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
Objective of Documenting this Exit Strategies
• To indicate to what extent the these exit strategy drivers have
been pursued and the remaining gaps to be addressed.
– Specifically:
• To find out what has been done regarding exit strategies
• To know where we are in terms of exiting and what are the exit strategy scenarios for
gaps identified

Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
Assumptions
National/local partners will integrated legume production and productivity enhancing
activities in their structures.
FCUs/private sector will invest in legume input supply chains, i.e., improved legume
seeds and bio-fertilizers.
The PPPs will enable N2Africa and partners to contribute resources for high impact,
minimize risks and solve institutional barriers in legume input and out output market.
N2Africa will confirm the cost effectiveness of the legume technologies, create awareness
with farmers and extension services, create demand towards the technologies, train potential
last mile deliveries.

Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
Laminar Flow Cabinet (sterile air flow chamber) – a laboratory equipment
donated to Hawassa University.
Four Toyota Double Cabin Pickups donated to EIAR, OARI, ARARI and
Hawassa University.
Ten Motor bikes given for partners.
One PhD – sandwich training program at Wageningen university (applied
microbiology- biological nitrogen fixation) & contribution to thesis research
PhD student at Queensland University, Australia (Animal feed); Four
MSc/MA students: 2 in microbiology & animal nutrition at Hawassa
University and 2 socioeconomicsat Haramaya University. Five other
MSc/MA students will be awarded soon.
Extension materials, i.e. booklets, leaflets, posters… produced in English
and local languages, and distributed.
Non-degree trainings were given for over 1100 subject matter specialists
from partner institutions (researchers, DAs, experts) on various topics (i.e.
inoculant technology, legume agronomy, gender mainstreaming, nutrition,
agri-business, data collections using tables)
The project has now reached over 25,000 farmers with inoculants, seeds &
improved legume production technologies in 30 Woredas over 4 regions.
ES Driver 1: To ensure that activities to enhance production and productivity of legume
crops are fully integrated into the national structures
• Build national/local organizational and human
capacities
– 4 regions (~31 woredas)
– 7 PPP clusters (public research and extension
organizations, university, legume value chain
projects, private legume input suppliers and grain
legume buyers, NGOs and FCUs)
– Capacity dev’t
• Trainings (formal & informal)
• Infrastructures
• Guidelines, protocols, reference materials

Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
ES Driver 1:….
• Mobilize national/local and external resources to continue
implementation
– Pre-/end of season cluster meeting, joint mid-season field visits (NARS- joint
planning and implementation of activities and evaluation of progresses)
– Commitment of resources (mainly staff time and infrastructure).
– Continuous dissemination/ introduction of technologies to enhance awareness
and knowledge
Gaps
• Partners commitment differences
• Limited trained SMS at local level (PCs, BoAs)
• Unavailability of fertilizer blends targeting legumes crops
• Appearance of new pest treats

Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
ES Driver 2: To ensure sustainable input supply
• Develop partnerships and local linkages to sustain input supply
– Supply strategies
• Seed: FCUs/PCs, CBOs, seed producer private commercial seed enterprises and private initiated out growers are
among the strategies used to supply legume seeds to the farmers. NARS - source of basic seeds.
• Inoculant: Coops and agro-dealers models used
• Fertilizer: DAP/NPS - Coops model
• Build local business networks with the private sector to ensure input supply
– BG, Anno, DiGoYi , MBI
– Information brokering: Pilot Input Demand-Supply ICT platform -SYS
Gaps
• Less investment in the legume input market research (i.e. packaging, promotion,
and coordination of the demand information systems)
• Inoculant quality control system from production to farm gate
• Dealing inoculant less attractive to FCUs (small profit margin)
• FCUs technical and organizational capacity limitations

Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
ES Driver 3: N2Africa will support information and knowledge
sharing platform among partners
• Dissemination guidelines
• Protocols
• Training materials
• PPP strategic documents
• Central data server and interactive interfaces
Gaps
• Lack of information packaging
• Poor data sharing & use of uploaded data

Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
Way forward: Strategic scenarios to close the gaps identified
1. Gradual reduction of dissemination activities, utilizing national/local
organizations to lead implementation, ensuring project activities are
mainstreamed in partners’ work plan while N2Africa deploys fewer
resources.
2. Focus on activities that still need to be supported, focusing on
critical areas/activities that require project resources per the exit
strategy drives and how such activities will be supported
3. Complete transfer of project activities to local institutions,
complete integration/handover of project activities into partner work
plans, provision of services can continue through local organizations,
supply of inputs is done with partner investments, provision of briefs,
tools to support information dissemination, etc

Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
Way forward: Strategic scenarios to close the gaps identified
No
.
Exit strategy
drivers
Gaps Strategic scenarios to close the gaps Responsibility
1
Ensure that
activities to
enhance
production
and
productivity of
legume crops
are fully
integrated
into the
national
structures
1.1. Insufficient dissemination of proven technologies
(in view of wider geographical location and communities
not yet reached)
The national/local institutions takeover/integrating into existing structure the
dissemination activities beyond N2Africa target location using own
resources.
NARS, FCUs,
BoAs, NGOs
1.2. Lack of comprehensive recommendation domains
for legume inoculation and fertilization across the
different agro-ecological locations & soil types.
Compile and avail the existing information to partners and wider
stakeholders. Conduct diagnostic and/or verification trials at representative
locations, where this is required.
NARS, N2Africa
1.3. Insufficient number of SMSs (subject matter
specialists) at grass-root level
Provide refreshing practical courses for more SMSs to reach more
households with the legumes production & utilization technolgies
NARS, FCUs,
BoAs, N2Africa
1.4. Unavailability of fertilizer blends targeting legumes
crops
Blends targeting legumes developed and be part of the improved legumes
production packages
NARS, MoA
1.5. In view of the legumes national importance and
wider geographical areas and communities, improved
legumes production technology yet to be promoted
(more communities remain to reach)
Mainstream training and public awareness creation on legume production
technologies in BoAs, FCUs and NGOs annual work-plan and budget.
NARS, FCUs,
BoAs, NGOs,
N2Africa
1.6. Sufficient emphasis (as much as cereal) not
provided to legumes
Importance/intensification of grain legumes production in farming system
sufficiently dealt with in partners annual work-plans (BoAs, NGOs,
development projects) and budgeted. N2africa support as exiting
NARS, FCUs,
BoAs, NGOs,
N2Africa
1.7. Exploration for effective rhizobial strains
satisfactory, but not sufficient (super nodulating strain
still laying somewhere in the soil)
Incorporate into annual work-plan and continue exploration. NARS
The private inoculant producer (MBI), as recipient of elite strain, to closely
work with the NARS
NARS, MBI
1.8. The organized/functionalized PPPs/ legume value
chain platforms not yet deep rooted.
Ensure coordination of the platforms taken by the NARS/BoAs (in short
run), but business firms (input supplier/grain buyers) take the leadership
role (in the long run).
NARS, BoAs,
N2Africa
Seek external support., i.e. development projects/ international
organizations to provide support until this takes solid shape (at lease for
few years to come)
N2Africa

Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
Way forward: Strategic scenarios to close the gaps identified
No.
Exit strategy
drivers
Gaps Strategic scenarios to close the gaps Responsibility
2
To ensure
sustainable input
supply and
output marketing
2.1. Lack of efficient and effective legume input demand
and market information system
Focus on the development of ICT platforms Plcs, N2Africa
2.2. Lack of active involvement of agro-dealers and less
involvement of FCUs on seed business.
Advice government authorities to formulate guidelines
and provide necessary technical/financial support.
NARS, MoA, N2Africa
2.3. Inexistent of Inoculant quality control system National inoculants quality control system installed NARS, MoA, N2Africa
2.4. The volume of inoculant business is less attractive to
FCUs (small profit margin)
Enhance the understanding and commitment of FCUs
as provider of services to smallholders & work towards
more demand creation through continuous
popularization of inoculants use.
NARS, FCUs, BoAs, NGOs,
N2Africa
2.5. Lack of business skills (mostly FCUs) and trust
between business parties (FCU and buyers)
Train FCUs leaders to raise the level of business
skills.
NARS, FCUs, BoAs, N2Africa

Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
Way forward: Strategic scenarios to close the gaps identified
No. Exit strategy drivers Gaps Strategic scenarios to close the gaps Responsibility
3
N2Africa/NARS will
support information and
knowledge sharing
platform among
partners
3.1. Lack of information packaging
Focusing on the development and sharing of packages of
best technologies, dissemination guidelines and PPP
designs
N2Africa
3.2. Mobile phones and radio messages not
adequately used
Make use of the ICT technology and local FM radios for
knowledge sharing and collection of input-output
demands.
NARS, FCUs, BoAs,
N2Africa
3.3. Poor data sharing and use of uploaded data
from central server.
Train partners staffs and organize writeshop to make use
of available data into information communication
products.
NARS, N2Africa

Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
Finale
• When this exit strategy document
planned/developed with partners in
advance of close-out, ensure better
N2Africa impacts and encourage
commitment to N2Africa sustainability.

Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
ACOS Ethiopia AKF ARARI Balegreen CRS-F2F
EIAR FC Guts Agro Industry HWU MBI
OARI SCS
Shayashone
Consulting
SNV-C4C Tsehay Union
AGRA-SSTP IFDC-2SCALE MfM MoA ILRI
FCUs Sidama Elto Union Damota Wolaita Union Becho Weliso Union
+ more
Acknowledgment