The Africa RISING project in Ethiopia's highlands had the goals of improving food security, gender equality, nutrition, income, and capacity building through sustainable intensification research from 2012-2022. It worked in four regions, implementing tested interventions like improved crops, fertilizers, and mechanization. Over 360,000 households directly benefited from validated technologies in phase two, while over 30,000 people participated in training. The project supported graduate students, published research, and faced challenges like COVID-19 and funding issues before planning its exit strategies.

1. Africa RISING In The Ethiopian Highlands:
Project Overview From 2012 to 2022
Kindu Mekonnen and Peter Thorne
ILRI, Ethiopia
10 February 2022
Project Briefing Meeting with SLS Management
Team
Virtual

2. Discussion points
1. Background
2. Focus, operational areas and target
3. Project implementation processes (phase 1
and 2)
4. Achievements
5. Opportunities and challenges
6. Next steps

3.  One Program - four Projects.
o Mixed Cereal-Legume-Livestock systems in West
Africa
o Mixed Cereal-Legume-Livestock systems in
East/Southern Africa
o Crop-Livestock systems in the Ethiopian
Highlands
o M&E and data management
 Funded by USAID through the FtF initiatives.
 Duration: 2012- Sept 2016 (Phase I) and Oct 2016-2022
(Phase II).
Africa RISING- Africa Research In Sustainable
Intensification for the Next Generation
1. Background

4. 2. Focus, operational areas and targets
 Focuses on SI of mixed farming systems to contribute to:
o climate smart development- food security
o gender equitable development
o improved nutrition
o income diversification
o Development of human and institutional capacities
 Conducts multi-disciplinary action research for
development
 Facilitates scaling through development partnership
arrangements
 Operates in four regions (Amhara, Tigray, Oromia and
SNNPR) in the highlands of Ethiopia
 Planned to reach and benefit 0.7 million direct beneficiary
hhs through its validated SI technologies

5. 3. Project implementation
processes (phase 1 and 2)
 Sites selection
 Systems understanding (diagnosis)
 Formation of research thematic areas
 Identification of SI interventions
 Testing and validation of SI
interventions
 Packing information/evidences of
validated interventions
 Identification of potential scaling DPs
 Facilitation of scaling
Capacity development, IPS, Partnership

6. 4. Achievements
a) Research for development - examples
o Cultivated forages, and agronomic and utilization practices
o Selection of improved cereal, food legume, oil crop and enset
varieties
o Productivity/yield and quality of HVFTs
o Use options of small-scale mechanization (2 WT based
technologies)
o Fertilizer blends, ISFM practices
o Water management and application, and SWC at landscape
scale
b) Generic and methodological (diagnostic, validation, evidence
generation) studies- examples
o Nutrition studies (contribution of nutrition education and project
interventions)
o Gender studies (women farmers’ participation in the ag research
Research:

7. Scaling:
 Phase II target= 700,366 hhs
 Reached through AR validated innovations in phase II =
360,548 hhs
 Reached through spillover, farmers to farmer and private
sector agents = 19,014 beneficiaries and from R4D=2,183
beneficiaries
0
50000
100000
150000
200000
250000
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Number
of
beneficiaries
Years
Targeted (T)
Reached (R)
Difference

8. Capacity development:
7958
7325
4835
3264
6899
0
1500
3000
4500
6000
7500
9000
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Number of beneficiaries
Years
 Documented over 30,281 beneficiaries from the project capdev
initiatives
 Theses included short-term trainings, field days, visits,
workshops, surveys, meetings as all enhances knowledge
exchange and cross learning

9. AR Phase
Degree
type Men Female Total
Phase I MSc 18 7 25
PhD 2 2 4
Phase I
Total 20 9 29
Phase II MA 1 1
MSc 4 3 7
PhD 15 2 17
Phase II
Total 19 6 25
Grand Total 39 15 54
Student attachment:
 In phase I and II, AR project of the Eth highlands supported 33
MSc and 21 PhD students.
 From the total attached students – 28% were female students
 Most CGIAR centers supported the attachment program
through supervision of MSc and PhD students.

10. Publications:
 Over 254 project outputs have been produced since 2017, of
which 36 are journal articles
 Examples of peer reviewed and highest profile journal
publications:
o Assessing smallholder sustainable intensification in the
Ethiopian highlands(Hammond et al. 2021, Agricultural
Systems)
o Landscape positions dictating crop fertilizer responses in
wheat-based farming systems of East African Highlands
(Amede et al. 2020, Renewable Agriculture and Food
Systems)
o Feed and forage development in mixed crop–livestock
systems of the Ethiopian highlands: Africa RISING project
research experience (Mekonnen et al. 2021, Agronomy
Journal)
o Multilevel innovation platforms for development of
smallholder livestock systems: How effective are they? (Lema

11. 5. Challenges remaining
 Covid 19 pandemics
 Security concerns
 Mismatch of planning of activities and release of
project funds
 Tracking and documenting informally disseminated
AR-validated technologies within and outside Africa
RISING operational areas
 Strengthening, testing and validating M and E
approaches (most notably the SIAF) to improve the
credibility of the evidence base for SI.

12. 6. Next steps
 Undertake studies to strengthen the evidence base
for Africa RISING outcomes and benefits; e.g.
RHoMIS, gender, and other studies
 Produce Africa RISING legacy products
 Generate information on farming systems priorities
and gaps for guiding future SI research and
investments for the Ethiopian Highlands
 Explore options/opportunities that enhance wider
use/application of Africa RISING project success
stories (approaches, validated innovations)
 Design Africa RISING project exit strategies

13. Africa RISING Scaling Development Partners in the Different
Sites/Regions (Phase II)- Examples

14. CGIAR Partners:

15. Africa Research in Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation
africa-rising.net
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