Technical Report Sustainable Intensification of Key Farming Systems in the Sudan and Guinea Savanna of West Africa 01 April to 30 September 2013 Submitted to United States Agency for International Development (USAID) October 2013 Contact Person: Dr Irmgard Hoeschle-Zeledon Project Coordinator [email protected] The Africa Research In Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation (Africa RISING) program comprises three research-for-development projects supported by the United States Agency for International Development as part of the U.S. government’s Feed the Future initiative. Through action research and development partnerships, Africa RISING will create opportunities for smallholder farm households to move out of hunger and poverty through sustainably intensified farming systems that improve food, nutrition, and income security, particularly for women and children, and conserve or enhance the natural resource base. The three projects are led by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (in West Africa and East and Southern Africa) and the International Livestock Research Institute (in the Ethiopian Highlands). The International Food Policy Research Institute leads an associated project on monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment. This document is licensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License Contents i Partner’s ii Summary 5 1. Introduction 6 2. Achievements during the reporting period 7 2.1. Research Output 1 (RO1): Situation analysis and program wide synthesis 8 2.2. Research Output 2 (RO2): Integrated systems improvement 9 2.3. Research Output 3 (RO3): Scaling and delivery 11 3. Cross-cutting activities 3.1 Capacity building 4. Meetings and workshops 12 5. Lessons and implementing issues 5.1 Lessons 5.2 Implementing issues 13 6. Selected reports and publications 14 7. Success stories 19 i Partners AMASSA Afrique Verte, Mali AMEDD Association Malienne d’Eveil et de Développement Durable, Mali ARI Animal Research Institute, Ghana AVRDC The World Vegetable Center CBOs Community-based Organizations, Ghana CIAT International Center for Tropical Agriculture, Ghana CMDT Compagnie Malienne de Developpemrnt des Textiles, Mali CRI Crops Research Institute, Ghana FRI Food Research Institute, Ghana GLDB Grains and Legumes Development Board, Ghana GUIFFA Guinea Fowl Farmers Association, Ghana HI Heifer International, Ghana ICRAF World Agroforestry Centre ICRISAT International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-arid Tropics IITA International Institute of Tropical Agriculture ILRI International Livestock Research Institute INSTI Institute for Scientific and Technological Information, Ghana IWMI International Water Management Institute KNUST Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana MOBIOM Mouvement Biologique du Mali, Mali MOFA Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ghana MOH Ministry of Health, Ghana NORGFA Northern Region Guinea Fowl Farmers Association, Ghana PSC Pioneer Seed Company, Ghana SARI Savanna Agricultural Research Institute, Ghana SEEDPAG Seed Producers Association of Ghana SRI Soil Research Institute, Ghana UPTCK Union des Producteurs et des Transformateurs de Cereales de Koutiala, Mali UDS University for Development Studies, Ghana UG University of Ghana, Ghana WU Wageningen University, The Netherlands WIAD Women in Agriculture Development, Ghana WRI Water Resources Institute, Ghana ii Summary This report highlights the progress made between April and September 2013. An ambitious field research program was put in place at the beginning of the current field season, both in Ghana and Mali. Data collection for the rapid characterization phase of farming systems analysis was initiated in both countries. Participatory approaches are being used to test and disseminate advanced options to improve crop, livestock and seed production. Training programs were organized to strengthen the technical capacity of partners and farmers. As the field work is still ongoing and the harvest of trials has not yet started, no trial results are presented. 1. Introduction The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is supporting the West Africa project of the Africa RISING program, a multi-stakeholder agricultural research project to sustainably intensify key farming systems as part of the U.S. Government’s Feed the Future initiative to address global hunger and food security issues. Africa RISING is also a way of bringing regional focus to the CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs) on Integrated Systems, especially the CGIAR Research Programs on Dryland Systems (CRP 1.1) and Humidtropics (CRP 1.2). Africa RISING started in October 2011 and is expected to be implemented over a total of five years. It is organized around 4 research outputs (ROs) that are logically linked in time and space: 1: Situation Analysis and Program-wide Synthesis 2: Integrated Systems Improvement 3: Scaling and Delivery of Integrated Innovation 4: Integrated Monitoring and Evaluation In Ghana activities are being implemented in 25 communities in the three northern regions (Figure 1, Table 1), while in Mali activities are ongoing in Bougouni, Yanfolila and Koutiala Districts of Sikasso Region (Figure 2, Table 2). In both countries, the farming system is dominated by cropping of cereals (maize, rice, sorghum, and pearl millet), legumes (cowpea, groundnut, and soybean) and vegetables (roselle, okra, pepper). The latter are in particular women’s crops. Constraints to production include: limited access to and high cost of inputs (quality seeds, fertilizer, land preparation machinery, household labor), low and erratic rainfall, low soil nutrient levels, pests, diseases, weeds (especially Striga), post-harvest losses, and poor access to markets, credit and information. Most farmers rear cattle, sheep, goats, poultry (chicken and guinea fowl) and pigs, mostly under free-range conditions. Poor veterinary services and inadequate dry season feed and watering points are among the major constraints to livestock production. Figure 1: Africa RISING intervention communities in Ghana Table 1: Intervention communities in Ghana Ghana Africa RISING Action… Region (=3) Community (=25) Northern Manguli, Tibali, Botingli, Duko, Kpallung, Tiborgunayili, Tingoli, Cheyohi No 2, Kpirim, Gbanjon Upper East Gia, Nyangua, Tekuru, Bonia, Sabulungo Upper West Ole, Zanko, Pase, Guo, Siiriyin, Natodori, Goli, Papu, Gylli, Kansigra Table 2: Intervention sites in Mali Mali Africa RISING Action… District (=3) Commune (=10) Village (=10) N'golonianasso N'golonianasso Songoua Sirakele Koutiala M'pessoba M’pessoba Sincina Nampossela Fakolo Zansoni Faradiele Flola Faragouaran Sibirila Bougouni Kouroulamni Madina Danou Dieba Yanfolila Gouanan Yorobougoula Figure 2: Africa RISING intervention villages in Mali 2. Achievements 2.1 Research Output 1: Situation analysis 2.1.1 Community mobilization and development of research for development (R4D) platforms Ghana Focused group discussions were conducted with groups of men and women to analyze new intervention communities in the Northern (Bontingli, Cheohi, Gbanjong, Kpallung, Kprim, Tibali and Tibognayili), Upper East (Bonia, Gia, Nyangua, Tekuru and Sambulugu) and Upper West (Goli, Guo, Gyilli, Natoduori, Oli, Papu and Passe) Regions. For each community, production constraints, coping strategies and potential interventions, synergies between crop and livestock production, institutions and linkages between key actors, markets/market niches and networks were identified. Resource maps and seasonal calendars were constructed, and interested households and experimental fields selected for each community. Figure 3 shows the market network and market channels for Tibali community. Mali Africa RISING action villages were visited several times before and at the start of the rainy season by teams of international (scientists and technicians) and local (field agents and coordinators) implementation partners in order to plan activities and trials in a participatory manner. In Yorobougoula, Yanfolila District, the R4D platform initiated by ICRAF in 2012 was re-established and activities planned. With co-funding from the McKnight Foundation and the CGIAR Research Program (CRP) on Dryland Systems, an R4D platform was initiated in Nampossela. Several additional planning meetings were held in Sirakele and Mpessoba to initiate cluster based nutrition field schools with mostly female participants. Participatory rapid rural appraisals and village mapping was performed in Dieba and Sibiryla (Bougouni District) in order to assess spatial land use patterns and practices in preparation for assessment of biomass availability from cropped and non-cropped land and studies on local conventions related to land use. Figure 3: Market networks (above) and marketing channels for Tibali community 2.1.2 Farming systems analysis Ghana The survey tool for the rapid characterization phase of farming systems was developed and tested. A 2-day workshop was organized to train 17 enumerators to collect data from 240 households. Data entry and analysis were completed. Farm typologies were identified for detailed characterization. Mali Basic farm structure data were collected for all five villages in Bougouni and two villages in Koutiala (Nampossela and Sirakele) in collaboration with the Compagnie Malienne de Developpement des Textiles (CMDT) In Mali. With co-funding from Dryland Systems, long-term household monitoring data was obtained from the national research institute, Institute d’Economie Rurale (IER). A