The Africa RISING West Africa Project began in 2011 with brainstorming meetings to plan farming systems intensification projects in Ghana and Mali. An inception workshop in 2012 established the research framework and approach. Africa RISING was launched as a 5-year research program with 3 regional projects in West Africa, Eastern and Southern Africa, and the Ethiopian Highlands. The goal is to create pathways for smallholders to move out of poverty through sustainable intensification. Field activities began in 2012 in Ghana and Mali, with research focusing on crop-livestock systems. Challenges implementing the first years included delays establishing baselines and integrating partner organizations.

1. Africa RISING West Africa Project—The
history and where we are today
I. Hoeschle-Zeledon
Africa RISING West Africa Review and Planning Meeting,
Bamako, Mali, 3-4 February 2014

2. The Start
 Oct. 2011: Brain storming meeting Bamako, Mali
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3 projects on farming systems intensification
agreement on countries and regions: UER, UWR, NR (Ghana), Sikasso (Mali)
 Jan. 2012: Inception workshop Tamale, Ghana
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CN presentation
need for a clear research framework (approach and context, research
hypotheses, trial design)
need for appropriate action and control site selection
=> fast track work plan building on existing work to produce results by
September 2012

3. Next steps
 Feb. 2012: decision on Program approach with 3
regional projects; name: Africa RISING
Africa RISING = Africa Research In Sustainable
Intensification for the Next Generation
 June - December: implementation of year 1 field
activities in both countries
 Sept.-December: draft work plans for 2013

4.  Throughout 2012:
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Site characterization and selection of future action and
control sites (socio-economic and biophysical
characteristics: length of growing period, market access)
Program research framework
M&E plan
Program communication strategy
Program and Project management structure
(Rules of engagement with farmers, gender
strategy)

5. Africa RISING Program
Africa
RISING
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5-year R4D program with 3 projects, M&E and comms components
• Cereal-legume-livestock based farming systems in the Guinea and
BulletSudano Savanna of WA (Ghana, Mali, [IITA])
• Cereal-legume-livestock based farming systems in ESA (Tanzania,
BulletMalawi, Zambia, [IITA])
• Crop-livestock systems of the Ethiopian Highlands (ILRI)
Goal
Create pathways for smallholder farm households to move out
of hunger and poverty through sustainable intensification (SI)
Objectives
• Identify and evaluate demand-driven options for SI
• Evaluate/document/share experiences with approaches for delivering and
integrating innovations beyond program sites
• Create opportunities for program participants to move out of poverty and
improve the nutritional status
• Facilitate partner-led wider dissemination of SI innovations
Hypotheses
• Integration, adoption, trade-off, sequencing, scalability

6. Research Framework
Research Framework

7. 2013
 January: Stakeholder meeting in Accra; first Steering
Committee meeting
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Approval of work plans deferred; issues of site and activity
integration; scale of operations; proposed research too
conventional, little innovative; need for farming systems approach
Mali, Ethiopia and Ghana identified the various experimentally
relevant scales at which they work.
Differences in the terminology and divergent assumptions about
what methodological approaches to take, and at what
experimental scales to apply these approaches;
Source of miscommunication and misunderstanding across the
program

8. 2013
 March: program-wide research methodology meeting
 Agreement on terminology and scales
 Adoption of proposed farming systems analysis
proposal (RO1) to inform RO2 activities
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functional farm typologies, identification of entry points, exante assessment of technology options, farm typology specific
priority setting & planning for integrated systems improvement
 April – May: Revision of draft work plans for 2013,
development of a set of regional research hypotheses
 June- December: Implementation of field activities
 Branding guidelines for coherent identity across all
projects and increased visibility http://africarising.wikispaces.com/comms_tools

9. Sub-agreements in 2013
Institution
Amount 000US$
ICRISAT
748
(sub-contracts with other partners in Mali)
CIAT
100
IWMI
100
ILRI
170
AVRDC (Ghana, Mali)
243
SARI
222
INSTI
29
KNUST
64
SRI
25
CRI
25
MoFA
45
MoH
45
FRI
45
FARA
20

10. Collaboration with development projects
 MoU with ACDI/VOCA ADVANCE project (Ghana,
expired)
 Discussions under way with ATT- Project (Ghana)
 FARMSEM Project Mali ???
 MoU with Heifer International in Ghana

11. Implementation challenges
 AfricaRice withdrew in March 2013
 Political situation in Mali: exclusion of government
institutions from funding, travel restrictions
 Lack of baseline surveys to guide research interventions
 Late recruitment of regional M&E officer
 Farming systems analysis not yet completed
 Staff fluctuation in partner organizations
 Key partners not present at research sites

12. Special events
 August 2012: visit of US Congressional delegation to
Ghana project sites
 July 2013: donor visit to Ghana project sites
 September 2013: Program-wide learning event
 October 2013: exchange visit of Ghana researchers to Mali
 Last week: USAID visit to Mali sites

13. Programme Management Structure
Program Coordination Team
(IITA, ILRI, IFPRI, USAID)
Communications Team
(ILRI)
West Africa Project
Steering Committee
(IITA)
Science
Advisory
Group
Monitoring and Evaluation
Team
(IFPRI)
Ethiopian Highlands Project
Steering Committee
(ILRI)
E&SA Project
Steering Committee
(IITA)

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