Africa RISING West Africa: Status of activities in the rice-based systems, January-September 2012
1. Africa RISING West Africa: Status of
activities in the rice-based systems,
January-September, 2012
Olupomi Ajayi
Africa Rice Center
Africa RISING-West Africa Review and Planning Workshop
23-25 October, 2012, Tamale, Ghana
2. Outline
Partners & Implementation Teams
Meetings
Implementation approach – Rice Sector Development
Hubs concept
Achievements and prospects
1.1.1 Baseline survey
1.1.15 Seed production
2.1.7 Yield gap survey
3.1.1 Diagnostic survey
3.1.2 Multi-stakeholder platforms
3. Major partners
Partner Responsibility
Africa Rice Center Overall project coordination, backstopping
(AfricaRice)
Savannah Agricultural In-country project implementation and coordination
Research Institute
(CSIR-SARI)
World Vegetable Introduction, evaluation and promotion of high value
Research and fruits and vegetables
Development Center
(AVRDC)
4. In-country partners
23 partners
2 Universities
5 Research institutes
2 Ministries – health and agriculture
NGOs
The private sector
Professional associations – farmers, processors, seed growers,
traders, etc.
5. Implementation teams
Baseline survey – Wiredu, Etwire, Martey, Nachim, Dogbe (SARI),
Arouna, and Diagne (AfricaRice)
Community seed production – Siise, Abebrese, Yirzagla, and Dogbe
(SARI)
Yield gap analysis – Baba, Yirzagla, Mawunya, Abdulai (SARI), and
Saito (AfricaRice)
Diagnostic survey – Nachim, Abdulai, Etwire (SARI) and Raboanarielina
(AfricaRice)
Rice sector development hubs and multi-stakeholder platforms (MSPs) –
Prince, Owusu, Martey, Dogbe (SARI) and Raboanarielina (AfricaRice)
6. Some important definitions
Baseline survey – describes the prevailing socio-
economic conditions of the actors in the target
area
Diagnostic survey – finds out the knowledge and
constraints faced by the actors in the area, as well
as technology transfer and linkages
Yield gap survey – quantifies yield gaps and their
causes through field observations and interviews
7. Meetings
Date Meeting
10-12 January Inaugural meeting of stakeholders: draft overall concept note and
logframe/workplan
10-11 February 1st consultative meeting at SARI: logframe and budget for the rice-
based component discussed
29 March 2nd consultative meeting at SARI: logframe and budget for the rice-
based component finalized
28-29 March Official launching of the project by IITA
12 April Inception workshop: sensitized potential partners; shared roles to
partners
8. Implementation Approach: The Rice Sector
Development Hub concept
Hubs are zones where rice research products will be integrated
across the rice value chain to achieve development outcomes and
impact
Hubs represent key rice ecologies and different market opportunities
in the target areas and will be linked to major regional or national rice
development efforts to facilitate out-scaling
These hubs are testing grounds for new rice technologies and follow
a ‘reverse-research approach’, i.e. starting from the market
9.
10. Implementation follows an iterative 3-stage approach:
1st generation villages / rice communities will participate in
baseline, diagnostic and yield gap surveys
2nd generation rice communities will not be directly involved
in research, but will benefit from the outcome of the
research done in the 1st generation rice communities
3rd generation rice communities will benefit from the
research work done through scaling out development
activities (funded by development partners)
11.
12. Multi-stakeholder platforms
• Will operationalize the concept of rice sector
development hub
• Act as a platform for introducing, validating and
monitoring appropriate improved rice technologies and
interventions
15. 1.1.1. Baseline survey
2 Hubs established:
Northern Region: Savelugu Hub - 20 communities, 200
households
Upper East Region: Navrongo Hub - 20 communities, 200
households
Protocol/workplan developed
Modular questionnaires formulated
Sample frame generated for producer survey
Sites selected based on Randomized Control Trials (Criteria:
Rice potential, Population, Accessibility, and Market access)
16. Baseline survey contd.
10 Enumerators + 4 SARI scientists trained on data collection
using Smartphones
First round of data collection commenced Sept
Data collection completed in 13 communities and for 27
households (outstanding 27 communities and 373 households)
18. Outstanding activities
1st round of data collection ends Oct 2012
2 more rounds in Nov and Dec 2012 for on-farm and
off-farm data on income and expenditure accounts for
2012
Producer/community surveys will continue till Mar 2013
Post-production surveys will start in Jan 2013
19. 1.1.15: Seed production
Trained 15 farmers + 4 extension staff in the Navrongo
Hub – too late to start in the Savelugu Hub
Provided foundation seed to the 15 farmers (0.4 ha
each = 6 ha total)
All fields successfully established
Four monitoring and technical backstopping visits by
CSIR-SARI
Seed are being certified by Ghana Seed Inspection
Division of MoFA
21. Outstanding activities
Field inspections by GSIU
Harvesting & processing – end Nov 2012
Final certification – Jan 2013
Linking seed producing farmers to market (other
farmers in the Hubs)
22. 2.1.7: Yield gap survey
Yield gap concept:
Yield gap is the difference between maximum attainable
yield and actual yield obtained by farmers
25. Yield gap survey: achievements
• 2 SARI scientists + 15 Agricultural Extension Agents
trained on data collection using Smartphones
• 1 automated weather station established in Navrongo Hub
(Nyangua)
• 8 communities randomly selected for the survey
• All households within the selected communities profiled
• 88 farmers were randomly selected for participation
• 88 farmers’ fields (8 researcher-managed) selected for
yield gap survey
26. Yield gap survey achievements contd.
• Selected plots geo-referenced and measured
• Documented farmers’ agronomic and management
practices in the communities
• Collected routine data based on the agreed protocol
27. Outstanding activities
Continue data collection on harvesting and post- harvest
processes up to Feb 2013
Collate data at each location and construct database – up to Mar
2013
Analyze data to identify and delineate the main constraints
responsible for yield gaps – May 2013
Clearly classify the yield gaps into:
exploitable gaps (those that are due mainly to suboptimal crop
management practices)
less exploitable gaps (those that can be closed, but with less
economic gains)
28. 3.1.1: Diagnostic survey
Protocol developed
2 team members trained by AfricaRice
Community listing and selection completed
Key Informant and Focused Group interviews conducted in
six communities
Data transcription almost completed
Data entry 85% complete
30. Outstanding activities
Complete data entry – end Nov 2012
Training on data analysis - Dec 2012 /Jan 2013
Data analysis and report writing – end Mar 2013
31. 3.1.2 Multi-stakeholder platforms
Different types of stakeholders identified (through
surveys and site visits)
MSPs composed, launched and made operational
Relationships between stakeholders identified
Stakeholders’ needs and interests identified and
analyzed
Backstopping at monthly MSP meetings
33. Achievements contd.
The project facilitated:
Statement of vision and mission by each MSP
Election & inauguration of executives/steering committees
Collection of membership levies
Opening of bank accounts
Adoption of local names for MSPs
Initiation of official registration of MSPs as cooperative
societies
Opening of office space
34. Hub Actor No. of Members Male Female
stakeholders
Savelugu FBO 10 500 448 52
MoFA 1 3 3 0
Aggregator 2 2 0 2
Processor 6 6 2 4
Tractor Services Provider 4 4 4 0
Agro Input Dealer 2 2 2 0
Rural Bank 1 1 1 0
District Assembly 1 1 1 0
Sub Total 27 519 461 58
Navrongo FBO 7 379 348 31
ICOUR 1 3 3 0
MoFA 1 1 1 0
Aggregator 2 2 1 1
Processor 4 4 1 3
Tractor Services Provider 2 2 2 0
Agro Input Dealer 2 2 2 0
Rural Bank 1 2 2 0
Sub Total 20 395 360 35
Total 47 914 821 93
35. Framework Research output 1: activities
Activity AfricaRice & partners
Construction of development domains within IFPRI will do this
and across the project mega-sites
Identification of action research sites within SARI has selected Hubs
the development domains of each mega-site
Establishment of R4D platforms Equal to MSPs
Collect baseline information Baseline + diagnostic + yield gap surveys
Construction of farm household typologies Baseline + diagnostic + yield gap surveys
Inventorize innovations Agronomy, social science, and economics teams
will develop inventory
Identification and prioritization of innovations Matching surveys’ results and inventory
addressing major constraints