West africa

Africa RISING Sustainable Intensification of Crop - Livestock Farming Systems in the Guinea and Sudano Savannah Zone of West Africa

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Introduction

The project is operating in the Guinea and Sudano−Sahelian zones of northern Ghana and southern Mali. In Phase 1 (2011–2016), research activities aimed at establishing the best-bet technologies that would deliver adoptable development solutions to smallholder farm families were tested and validated through participatory research approaches together with the farming communities. Phase 2 of the project (2016−2021) will combine continuity with evolutionary change to ensure that the technologies identified in Phase 1 drive wider adoption at scale through effective development partnerships. The project envisions that, by 2021, over 100,000 smallholder farm households in Ghana and Mali will benefit from Africa RISING technologies. Based on the experiences and lessons learned from Phase 1, expected outcomes of the Africa RISING West Africa Project in Phase 2 are:

• Outcome 1: Farmers and farming communities in the project area are practicing more productive, resilient, profitable, and sustainably intensified crop–livestock systems linked to markets.
• Outcome 2: More farmers and farm families are adopting technologies and practices to improve nutrition, food and feed safety, postharvest handling, and value addition.
• Outcome 3: Farmers and other value chain actors have greater and equitable access to production assets and markets (input and output) through enabling institutions and policies.
• Outcome 4: Effective partnerships are built with farmers, local communities, and research and development partners in the private and public sectors to ensure delivery and uptake at scale of sustainable intensification technologies, innovations, and practices.

Project sites

The project is implemented in a total of 25 communities – the Northern, Upper West and Upper East regions of Ghana. In Mali, activities are implemented in 10 villages in the Bougouni - Yanfolila and Koutiala Districts of the Sikasso Region in southern Mali. From 2015, and for various reasons, Yorobougoula village (in Yanfolila District) will no longer be part of Africa RISING intervention villages thereby reducing the intervention villages to nine.

| | File:Smallimage Mali map action sites.jpg

Click on image to enlarge.

Project interventions

Through a participatory and demand-driven approach to research, project partners are implementing adaptive research on various technologies and working with development organizations to get them into the hands of farmers at scale. The activities include testing and disseminating: (i) improved crop varieties (drought and Striga resistant food and feed crops); (ii) appropriate agronomic practices (planting density, cereal−legume rotations and

intercropping, multiple cropping, increasing cropping cycles within a season, efficient use of input resources and agroforestry); (iii) climate-smart land management practices (conservation agriculture, physical barriers to soil and water loss, in-situ water harvesting, and soil cover crops); (iv) improved animal husbandry practices (semi-intensive and intensive management); and (v) technologies for reducing pre- and postharvest losses. The project also facilitates linkages between farmers and input/output markets. The objective is to build well-integrated and productive crop and livestock enterprises that minimize natural resource degradation.

To diversify household nutrition, the project is introducing new nutritious food preparation techniques based on locally available ingredients for household members, particularly children. Nutrition field schools are being used to promote knowledge exchange on best practices for processing and storage of cereals, legumes, and vegetable-based foods.

Group and individual trainings are conducted to strengthen the capacities of all actors (farmers, research and extension staff, input and output dealers, and policy makers). Academic training at the MSc and PhD level is applied to address important knowledge gaps, and to develop the “next” generation of scientists. Information exchange is being promoted through field days, radio programs, exchange visits, and video shows.

The project gives special attention to gender equality and underprivileged groups within the society. Enabling policies and institutions to improve access to input and output markets, formation of effective partnerships, and access to knowledge and information are advocated for, especially through operational level R4D/Innovation platforms.

Technologies validated by the project during Phase 1.

Broad category	Validated flagship technologies	Validation sites
New crops and varieties to overcome existing biotic and abiotic stresses and improve productivity per unit land area	New, high-yielding crop varieties, e.g.: * Drought and Striga tolerant, extra-early, and early-maturing maize, * Nutrient-efficient rice * Aflatoxin resistant groundnut * Sorghum hybrids * Early-maturing cowpea * Dual-purpose cowpea * Short-duration soybean * Medium soybean * High yielding and disease-resistant varieties of vegetables (okra, roselle, tomato, eggplant, and pepper)	Ghana (Northern, Upper West, and Upper East regions) and Mali (Bougouni and Koutiala districts)
Agronomic practices to increase grain and fodder yield and soil nitrogen content	Cereal−legume intercropping Cereal−legume rotations Dual-purpose food legumes Cereal−vegetable intercropping	Ghana (Northern, Upper West, and Upper East regions) and Mali (Bougouni and Koutiala districts)
Integrated soil fertility management as a cost-effective approach to replenish soil fertility	Optimized N and P fertilizer rates Fertilizer micro-dosing Livestock corralling for manure/urine Cereal−legume rotations Cereal−legume intercropping	Ghana (Northern, Upper West, and Upper East regions) and Mali (Bougouni and Koutiala districts)
Land management technologies to reduce soil loss and enhance water utilization	In-situ water harvesting Physical barriers to reduce soil erosion Contour bunding with trees	Ghana (Northern, and Upper East regions) and Mali (Bougouni and Koutiala districts)
Agroforestry technologies to increase fruit, vegetable, and feed production per unit land area and conserve soil and water	New provenances of indigenous trees (Adansonia digitata, Ziziphus mauritania, Tamarindus indica) Grafting Pruning management Contour bunding with trees	Mali (Bougouni and Koutiala districts)
Improved livestock feed, and feeding, housing, health and breeding management packages	Sheep/goat flock feeding Sheep/goat health care Housing for poultry Guinea fowl brooding management Stover quality improvement	Ghana (Northern, and Upper East regions)
Pre- and postharvest technologies to reduce food waste and improve food safety	Grain storage in PICS bags and plastic drums Aflasafe application in maize and groundnut fields	Ghana (Northern, and Upper East regions)

Research plans

Phase 2 research-in-development plans

• 2021/2022 workplan
• 2020/2021 workplan
• 2019/2020 workplan
• 2018/2019 workplan
• 2017/2018 workplan

Phase 1 research plans

• 2016/2017 workplan
• 2014/2016 workplan
• 2013/2014 workplan

Phase II Partnership Reports

Partners

Partners meetings

• click here to view comprehensive events list

2018

2017

• 17 june: Africa RISING Mali partners meeting - Bougouni, Mali
• 15 June: Africa RISING Mali partners meeting - Koutiala, Mali
• 9 - 10 March: Africa RISING Mali partners meeting, Bamako - Mali
• 1 - 3 February: Africa RISING West Africa planning workshop, Accra - Ghana

2016

• 18 October: Africa RISING Mali partners meeting
• 30 August: Mali partners meeting
• 22 August: Ghana Research Team visit to Upper East Region Project Sites
• 28 June: Mali partners meeting Bamako
• 17 May: Ghana Northern Region research team meeting
• 15 June: Ghana Northern Region research team meeting
• 14 April: Ghana Upper East Region research team meeting
• 24 March: Ghana Upper West Region research team meeting
• 11 - 15 January: Mali partners meeting - Bamako Mali

2015

• 22 December: Ghana Northern Region Research team meeting
• 18 December - Ghana Upper West Region research team meeting
• 17 September - Ghana Northern Region research team meeting
• 11 September - Ghana Upper East Region research team meeting
• 03 September - Ghana Upper West Region research team meeting
• 02 September - Mali partners meeting
• 24 July - Mali partners meeting

>>>>>>>>>>>+ PPT presentation: Activities at Flola technology park >>>>>>>>>>>+ PPT presentation: Activities at Koutiala area

• 30 June - Ghana Upper West Region Research Team meeting
• 23 June - Ghana Northern Region research team meeting
• 5 June - Mali partners meeting

>>>>>>>>>>>+ PPT presentation: Africa RISING Mali progress update

• 8 May- Mali partners meeting
• 10 April- Mali partners meeting
• 7 April- ICRISAT, IER and ILRI meeting for theme 3 component
• 25 March- Mali partners meeting (held at the end of the West Africa Review and Planning Meeting 2015)
• - Field day at Madina and Sirakélé
• 27 February - Mali partners meeting held at the sidelines of span stylebackground-color: ffffff Africa RISING Mali Progress Report/Work Plan Review Meeting)
• 8 January - Mali partners meeting

2014

• 15 August - Ghana Upper West Region research team meeting
• 14 August - Ghana Upper East Region research team meeting
• 13 August - Ghana Northern Region research team meeting
• 18 June - Ghana Upper West Region research team meeting
• 22 April- Ghana research team meeting
• 21 February- Review Meeting for 2014 Work-Packages

Innovation Platforms/R4D Platforms

2015

• 21 May 2015 - Bougouni Innovation Platform meeting
• 19 May 2015 - Koutiala Innovation Platform meeting
• 21 January 2015 - Savelugu District (Northern Region, Ghana) R4D platform launch
• 20 January 2015 - Tolon District (Northern Region, Ghana) R4D platform launch

2014

• 18 December 2014 - Bongo District (Upper East Region, Ghana) R4D platform launch
• 16 December 2014 - Kassena Nankana East District (Upper East Region, Ghana) R4D platform launch

Reports and Documents

*Click header above to view the final reports published by the project on CG Space

Adjunct reports from project partners

• Intensification durable des systemes de production a base des cereales etat des realisations des activites de la fenabe - June 2019
• Compte rendu de la formation des producteurs de m’pessoba, sirakele et zanzoni sur l’utilisation des mangeoires ameliorees - February 2019

Training materials

• Zero Energy Cooling Chamber (ZECC) for Vegetable Storage and Preservation - WorldVeg (10 October 2021)
• Boisson a l'oignon - Produced by Institut de Technologie Alimentaire (ITA)
• | A Guide to Assembling, Using, and Maintaining Clay Pot Coolers - Produced by the MIT D-Lab, the World Vegetable Center, and Institut d'Economie Rurale (IER)
• Onion varieties validated by Africa RISING in Ghana and Mali (10 October 2021)
• Contour bunding in Mali - technology brief
• Socio-economic survey instrument for soil and water conservation measure (9 November 2017)
• Soil and water conservation training presentation (7 November 2017)
• Soil and water conservation training brochure (7 November 2017)
• Interactive radio to scale-up in agriculture and nutrition in Africa RISING Mali (December 2017)

Protocols, questionnaires, PhD proposals

*Click header above to view the research protocols

Posters and presentations

*Click header above to view the latest posters & presentations

News and Updates

*Click header above to view the latest news and updates media type="custom" key="17733244"

Key contacts

• Irmgard Hoeschle-Zeledon, Manager Africa RISING West Africa and East / Southern Africa Projects - I.Hoeschle-Zeledon(at)cgiar.org
• Fred Kizito, Chief Scientist Africa RISING West Africa Project – F.Kizito(at)cgiar.org
• Birhanu Zemadim, Scientist ICRISAT/Africa RISING Coordinator Mali - Z.Birhanu(at)cgiar.org
• Wilhelmina Ofori-Duah, Research Communication Specialist, Africa RISING West Africa Project - W.Ofori-Duah (at) cgiar.org

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Yorobougoula (in Yanfolila District)