ESApartnersupdateMarch2021
Africa RISING ESA Project Partners Meeting
4 March 2021
Virtual via Ms TEAMS
Participants
- A. Kimaro, ICRAF
- B. Zemadim, ICRISAT
- C. Azzarri, IFPRI
- C. Thierfelder, CIMMYT
- D. Mgalla, IITA
- E. Swai, TARI-Hombolo
- F. Kizito, IITA
- F. Muthoni, IITA
- G. Fischer, IITA
- I. Dominick, WorldVeg
- I. Hoeschle-Zeledon, IITA
- J. Groot, WUR
- J. Kihara, Bioversity-CIAT
- J. Manda, IITA
- J. Odhong, IITA
- L. Claessens, IITA
- M. Bekunda, IITA
- M. Mutenje, IITA (consultant)
- P. Okori, ICRISAT
- R. Chikowo, MSU
Agenda
- Documenting technology transfer and scaling
- Improving household nutrition through education interventions: Case studies from sub-Saharan Africa through the Africa RISING program
Documenting technology transfer and scaling – M. Bekunda, IITA, ESA Chief Scientist
- Download presentation from link in the title above.
Discussion
- Job Kihara [Q]: Prof. Bekunda, so how does success look like? What are the factors/ approaches to consider that bring out the most success in the context of Africa RISING than others?
- Prof. Bekunda [A]: We are hoping that we are going to capture these processes from the information you send to us Job. The measure of success will be on how far we have reached our target that we set our self in the proposal. Also, when we attribute numbers to different approaches, we can pay attention to the approaches that have the highest number. However, we need to refer to all ingredients received from the partners. Further, the lesson learned is the part of the information that we are looking for, so when we are writing the manuscript ( tool), we will present the challenges and also present the lesson that was learned out of what has been done.
- Francis Muthoni [Q]: Prof. Bekunda, on slide number one, regarding the slipover, please elaborate how slipovers have been determined? And if the number presented is explosive?
- Prof. Bekunda [A]: Francis, ESA is a space holder, 2000 is a space holder from the document, it might be difficult to identify spillover in the life of the project. So that why IFRI conducts studies and determines the slipovers.
- Prof. Bekunda [Q]: Fred. How did you attribute the numbers to this table?
- Fred Kizito [A]: We got responses from various partners as the results of the questioner drafted from a year ago, where the farmers have got explicitly / direct /indirect got in touch with other farmers. There is also a project in Mali, the Africa RISING Drought Tolerant Sorghum varieties Scaling, it is the one that we call a spillover because a lot of farmers had got information’s from Africa RISING’s farmers on the use of sorghum varieties that is how it is characterized. However, the numbers presented in the table still need revisions to know if they are in the right categories.
- Francis [A]: in reference to the farmer to farmer and incase if the researchers do not follow-up on the ongoing activities that farmer does while we do not know what is happening, that is the spillover. However, if we are following and backstopping farmers, then that is the scaling. We also have been working with Julius to see if we can measure the Africa RISING NAFAKA short time impact.
- Irmgard [Q]: There is a need to clarify some terms (defining some terms) in these studies like the definition of success, for example, emphasis on farmers who have adopted the information and transfer the information and got it into action is that what we mean by success? the term slipover, beneficiaries should also be clearly defined. Also, the issue of household or farmers, I think when it comes to reaching farmers, I will be happy with the term household, when it comes to adoption; we have to define what we mean, also use farmhouse when we mean they manage the farm together.
- Prof. Bekunda [Action]: Yes, Irmgard, we must look at the terms and make the definition of these terms. However, the household might be the problem, but we can reach the FtF guide because it does not talk of households, but most people reached is in numbers.
- Christian [Q]: In one of the slides, you have probably following the USAID terminologies from discovery, transfer, and scaling. At the scaling phase, we should have engaged and work with the development partners for them to take the technologies that we have capacitated people to reach out to more farmers. Recently, Irmgard requested help on scaling the chapter/paper of one of the handbooks; I think we are a bit naive in the way we are approaching it scaling). In my view, because the scaling partners have rarely seen the incentive of getting involved and do the scaling work for us also, we were not effective to generate a change, for example, in the supply side( private sectors) who actually pull the technology scaling, logically some technologies like on improved maize /sorghum varieties it easier scaled under the cropping systems/ sustainable intensification practices so, having the private sector involved more would have helped out in the scaling part. One of the shortfalls of Africa RISING the scaling was to come from development partners without budget support; this has been a weakness. It will be important to highlight such challenges in our paper. Just by giving them the technology and capacitate farmers, we will get to the numbers that we targeted to have.
- Prof. Bekunda [A]:There should be cases that we can put in the document and explain.
Improving household nutrition through education interventions: Case studies from sub-Saharan Africa through the Africa RISING program – F. Kizito, IITA, WA Chief Scientist
- Download presentation from link in the title above.
Discussion
- Patrick [Q]: It will be good for both papers to look at some level of clustering because there are commonalities in methodologies. For example, positive deviance has been used in Ghana and Tanzania while these two countries are of different Agri-system. Under this content, the scientific questions are how did these methodologies react under these different agri-food systems? I think we can integrate this into the paper.
- Q: On the other side of the first presentations by Prof. Bekunda. It Is important to think more about how these cluster knowledge systems could be delivered in a more clustered manner, and along with that, of course, the impact that they could trigger and how we can go about measuring.
- Prof. Bekunda [A]: I agree with you, Patrick. We should include that
- Prof. Bekunda [Action]: Patrick to read the document and insert what he is proposing should be.
- Q: Bekunda, what is the timeline for finalizing the paper on scaling approaches?
Bekunda
- A: We hope April we should have a good job
- Irmgard [Q]: Okay, but you remember the PCT wanted to see the draft, and we gave a deadline for 26 February
- A: Yes, Irmgard, we are meeting next week and decided what we can send to PCT for inputs
- Irmgard [A]: Okay, Bekunda, please share also share the paper with Patrick, Christian, and Regis for more inputs on cases that are happening in the Africa RISING program.
