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, 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 , 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 , and Koutiala Districts of 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 Sirakele Koutiala M'pessoba M’pessoba Nampossela Flola Bougouni Kouroulamni Madina Danou Dieba Yanfolila

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 detailed household characterization protocol was developed and data collection started.

A preliminary farm typology was produced and farms selected for detailed characterization in two villages in Bougouni (Sibirila and Dieba). With co-funding from the McKnight Foundation and CRP Dryland Systems, a preliminary farm typology cluster analysis has been performed on data from Bougouni and a farm typology for Koutiala has been developed and presented at a farming systems design workshop in Lanzhou, China.

2.2 Research Output 2: Integrated systems improvement

Small-scale crop-livestock farmers predominate in the intervention communities in both countries. The rain-fed cropping systems in the communities are dominated by cereals and legumes, the main cereals being maize, sorghum, rice and both early and late millet. The cereals are either grown in pure stands or intercropped/rotated with grain legumes and a variety of vegetables. Crop yields on farmers’ fields are low due to low and erratic rainfall, drought, limited access to improved varieties, poor agronomic practices (low planting density, late planting), pest and diseases, and low soil fertility. Extensive and semi-intensive livestock (cattle, sheep, goats, pigs) and poultry (chicken and guinea fowl) production are an integral part of the cereal-legume farming systems, contributing milk, meat, traction and manure. Key constraints to improving meat and milk outputs include low productivity of local breeds, limited quality feed and inappropriate management practices (feeding, health and housing) which result in high mortality rates. The link between the crop and livestock enterprises is generally weak. Limited access to credit, markets, extension services and value addition; high post-harvest losses; and lack of effective institutions and enabling policies constrain both crop and livestock production. The nutritional status of farm households in the intervention communities is general low, particularly for pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and young children.

A series of activities are being implemented to test single and/or combined technologies at the plot and farm/household scale to address the above constraints in the integrated small-scale crop livestock farming systems. It is envisaged that data from the plot and/or farm level activities could be used to extrapolate to the landscape scale through modeling and other related activities.

2.2.1 Improving cereal-legume-vegetable-tree and crop-livestock systems

Several on-farm and on-station agronomic trials were conducted using farmer participatory approaches such as the ‘mother-baby’ approach to test and disseminate improved germplasm and best agronomic practices in the intervention communities with the ultimate goal of improving the productivity of crop (cereal-legume-vegetable- tree)-livestock farming systems without degrading the natural resource base.

Ghana A series of multi-locational trials were conducted to evaluate, identify and disseminate high-yielding and adapted lines of legumes (soybean, cowpea and groundnut) and cereals (maize and sorghum). For the legumes, 16 lines each of early-maturing and medium-maturing soybean; 12 lines each of early-maturing, medium-maturing and dual-purpose cowpea from IITA; and 8 aflatoxin-resistant groundnut varieties from ICRISAT are being evaluated. Similarly, 16 maize hybrids from WIENCO Ghana Ltd. and 11 sorghum hybrids from ICRISAT are being screened.

Agronomic studies to improve grain and fodder yields in the smallholder crop-livestock farming systems without degrading the natural resource base were initiated. On-farm multi-locational ‘mother’ trials established during the reporting period include:  Grain yield responses of extra-early (Abontem, TZEEW STR QPM CO), early (Abrohema, Omankwa) and medium (Obatanpa, DT SR W CO F2) maturing maize varieties to the recommended and higher fertilizer rates.  Grain yield responses of six cowpea varieties (Songotra, Apagbaala, Padituya, IT-99K-573-1-1, Zaayura and a local check) to number of insecticide sprays (once at flowering versus three times at flora bud formation, flowering and podding)  Effect of six integrated soil fertility management options on grain yield of early-maturing (TGX-1940-6F) and medium-maturing (Jenguma) soybean varieties  Integrated soil fertility management effects on grain and fodder yields and soil chemical and physical properties in soybean-maize and cowpea-maize rotations

A series of farmer-participatory trials on rice production were initiated, including:  Yield gap studies in rice production  Testing good agronomic practices for better grain yield of rice  On-farm nutrient omission trials  Community seed production

The following trials were started last season continued for the second year:  Responses of extra-early, early and medium maturing maize varieties to nitrogen fertilizer  Grain yield responses of three early and four late maturing soybean varieties to fertilizer and rhizobium inoculation  Date of planting and spraying regime effects on grain yield of cowpea varieties

Mali A large number of agronomic trials were established at villages in Bougouni/Yanfolila (117 trials) and Koutiala (234 trials) Districts in collaboration with the McKnight Foundation, the CGIAR Research Program on Dryland Systems and AMEDD. They can be grouped as follows:  Testing varieties and agronomic options to increase vegetable production  Productivity of groundnut variety with Roselle intercrop  Neem-based insecticide effects on grain and fodder yields of two improved cowpea varieties  Phosphorus fertilization and neem oil effects on cowpea grain yield  Rhizobia inoculant and phosphorus fertilization effects on soybean grain yield  Groundnut variety and agronomic management effects on grain yield  Grain and fodder yield of improved dual-purpose cowpea varieties under different agronomic management  Test sorghum hybrids and mechanized micro-dosing  Organic and inorganic fertilizer effects on grain yields of maize hybrids  Grain and fodder yields of different maize-cowpea intercrops  Mineral and organic fertilizer effects on sorghum grain yields  Sorghum-cowpea intercrops for increased grain and fodder production  Evaluation of Stylosanthes (Fabaceae) for fodder production

2.2.2 Improving cattle, sheep and goat production

Ghana The research protocol for the assessment of promising livestock value chains in northern Ghana was completed. The key livestock value chains in the project area were identified as guinea fowl in Northern Region, pigs in Upper East Region, and small ruminants in Upper West Region. The identification of the key livestock value chains was informed by the report of the analysis of constraints and opportunities for sustainable intensification in the intervention communities carried out earlier in the project life.

Mali Small ruminant feeding trials were initiated in Yorobougoula. Fodder production for dry season and small ruminant feeding trials are being conducted in Yorobougoula and Sibirila. Dairy cow and stall-feeding trials are planned.

Ten women in Yorobougoula are participating in a 60-day sheep fattening trial using three treatments: (i) free grazing only, (ii) free grazing with complementary maize bran and Pterocarpus erinaceus leaves (nutritious fodder tree), and (iii) treatment (ii) along with salt licking block.

Ten farmers in Yorobougoula, 5 in Sibirila (Bougouni/Yanfolila area) and 15 in Nampossela and environs (Koutiala area) are producing cowpea fodder (on at least 0.25 ha) for use in dry season small ruminant and dairy cow stall-feeding trials.

2.2.3 Improving farm household nutrition

Ghana A survey to characterize household nutrition was completed. Data entry and processing are ongoing.

Mali Planning meetings and initiation of cluster-based nutrition field schools in six neighborhoods each in Sirakele and Mpessoba villages were conducted with a total of 60 farmer trainers (14 men, 46 women) and on average about 500 female participants. Three participatory sessions were organized to treat nutrition related issues. Modules and subjects tackled during the sessions were: (i) nutrition of children between 6 and 24 months and preparation of enriched porridge, (ii) nutrition of pregnant and breast feeding (nursing) mothers and preparation of enriched peanut sauce, and (iii) auto diagnostic of nutritional status of children between 6 months and 5 years and prevention of Vitamin A, iron and iodine deficiency.

A participatory survey of the nutritional status of about 1,300 children with and by parents, using a simple armband measurement tool, revealed that about 1% were severely malnourished, 6% were moderately malnourished, 19% were at risk of becoming malnourished, and 74% were normal.

2.3 Research Output 3: Scaling and delivery

Ghana Field days were organized at the intervention communities in the three regions. The field days were attended by farmers, staff of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, non-governmental organizations, traditional authorities, press representatives, assemblymen and students. A total of 256 attended the two field days in the Upper West Region, out of which 163 (64%) and 93 (36%) were men and women, respectively.

Five thousand copies of the DVD “Fighting Striga” were produced in Kusaal, Frafra, Dagbaari and English language and distributed. The Striga biology video was officially launched on 17 July in Tamale.

Diagnostic interviews on sorghum and pearl millet cropping systems were held, followed by video mediated training sessions and discussions with representatives of five villages in Upper West Region (Nyangua, Bonia, Tekuru, Samboligo and Gia), showing three videos (“Striga biology”, “Grow row by row” and “Let’s talk money”). These diagnostic interviews have shown that Striga is a serious problem in these crops in the region and farmers know little about the weed.

Mali In addition to organized video shows in several intervention villages, small farmer groups have watched “Fighting Striga” at their own initiative and cost. A study is under way to assess to what extent and how the DVDs are being used, as well as to determine the impact on farmer knowledge and field practices.

3. Cross-cutting activities

3.1. Capacity building

In both countries, group training was organized to strengthen the capacity and knowledge of farmers, extension agents and research staff (Table 3). Six MSc and 2 PhD students registered at the University for Development Studies and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology were recruited.

Table 3: List of group training events arranged during the reporting period

Title of training Country Date Target group Trainees Lead institute Experimental design/data analysis for female scientists Ghana 1-12 June Female scientists 15 INSTI Field crops research trials management Ghana - Technicians 12 SARI Good agronomic practices for sorghum production Ghana - Farmers 105 SARI Production of quality rice seed Ghana - Farmers 10 SARI Good agronomic practices for rice production Ghana - Farmers 30 SARI Cowpea pest identification and control Ghana - Technicians, farmers 48 SARI Good cowpea production practices Ghana 12 July Technicians, farmers 55 SARI Use of tablet for collecting yield gap analysis Ghana 7 July Technicians 2 SARI Training on feed assessment tool Ghana 5-7 August Technicians, 20 ILRI researches Use of video for farmer training Mali 13-15 May Field agents 6 ICRISAT Mechanized micro-dosing and GroPlus seed treatment Mali 4-6 June Field agents, 7 ICRISAT farmers Grafting and planting of improved trees Mali Farmers 141 ICRAF

4. Project meetings and workshops

Selected project staff attended the following events, in addition to many other in-country meetings and workshops:

Feed the Future Collaborative Innovation Labs and Partners Workshop: Scaling Agricultural Technologies and Developing Collaborative Partnerships to Prioritize Research for Development, 8-9 July 2013, Accra, Ghana

Sustainable Intensification Systems Workshop, 10-13 July 2013, Accra, Ghana

Field visit by J. Glover, T. Powell, and B. Iyob (all USAID-BFS) to Northern and Upper East Region in Ghana, 13-16 July 2013

Africa RISING Malawi Farming Systems and Modelling Workshop, 29 July-1 August 2013, Salima, Malawi

4th International Farming Systems Design Workshop, 19-22 August 2013, Lanzhou, Gansu, China

Africa RISING East and Southern Africa Annual Review and Planning Meeting, 3-5 September 2013, Lilongwe, Malawi

Africa RISING Annual Learning Event, 24-16 September 2013, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

5. Lessons and implementing issues

5.1 Lessons  Partners eventually working together in a limited number of the same villages encouraged integration of activities.  Common planning and monitoring missions improved communication between international and local partners and farmers.  Collaboration and integration by choosing cross-cutting themes for activities (nutrition, farm and field productivity, natural resource management) rather than commodity-based themes helped to improve systems research approach. But it also makes budgeting and recruitment of personnel more complicated, as activities and responsibilities should be shared, but budgets are not.

5.2 Implementing issues

The rains this year were delayed and did not start until the beginning of July. This resulted in late planting in all the three regions in Ghana which could affect results of the field experiments (to be presented in next technical report).

In July, the IFPRI regional M&E specialist arrived in Tamale and joined the Africa RISING team. However, in both countries, the baseline surveys, to be carried out by IFPRI, have not yet been done and have again been postponed. They are now scheduled for the end of 2013/beginning of 2014.

Until after the presidential elections in late July, project staff in Mali were not able to move freely to project sites. The ban on fund transfer to government entities is still in place. Both issues represented serious constraints to the implementation of the activities. The political and security situation in the country has normalized and the project expects lifting of the funding ban to resume collaboration with essential government institutions.

Great progress has been made towards better integration of all national and international implementing partners. Good team spirit is noticed at meetings. However, many partners do not respect the agreements signed between IITA and their organizations. Changes in staff at partner organizations lead to changes in agreed implementation plans and deviations from planned use of funds. Non-compliance with reporting deadlines makes it difficult for IITA to report on time to the donor and to disburse funds to partners as planned during workplan development. Efforts have been made to improve on reporting discipline but they were so far little successful. While it is understandable that some smaller national partners do have capacity problems to comply with the reporting requirements, it is not acceptable that the CGIAR partners are failing to report timely. A message has now been sent to partners that timely and quality reporting will be a criterion for continuing the partnership beyond the duration of the current agreements. When applying this measure, some of the current partners, including CGIAR Centers, will no longer be involved in Africa RISING. The Coordinator and Chief Scientist will analyze alternatives to current partners for the particular expertise needed and evaluate the implications of changing partners. Unfortunately, it will not be possible in all cases, as there are not always practical alternatives.

6. Selected reports and publications

Falconnier, Gatien (2013). Understanding farm trajectories for better targeting of agricultural technologies. Fourth International Symposium on Farming Systems Design, Lanzhou, China, 19-22 August 2013. http://www.fsd2013.com/uploadfile/2013/0906/20130906122245145.pdf

Buah, SS., Larbi, A., Hoeschle-Zeledon, I. (2013). Grain yield responses of maize to nitrogen fertilizer in the West Africa Guinea savannah. Accepted for presentation at the 6th International Nitrogen Conference, Kampala, Uganda, 18-22 November 2013.

Denwa, N., Buah, SS., Larbi, A., Hoeschle-Zeledon, I. (2013). Soybean grain yield responses to NPK fertilizer and rhizobium inoculation. Accepted for presentation at the 6th International Nitrogen Conference, Kampala, Uganda, 18-22 November 2013.

Kanton, RAL., Larbi, A., Buah, SS., Kombiok, JM., Ansoba, E., Aungre, PA., Lamin, S., Prasad, PV. (2013). Effect of nitrogen fertilizer on growth and yield of maize varieties with different maturities in a dry agro-ecology of northern Ghana. Accepted for presentation at the Annual General Meeting of the Crop Science Society of America (CSSA)/ Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) and the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Tampa, Florida, 3–7 November 2013.

7. Success Stories Catalyzing partnerships and large-scale training of Striga and soil fertility management with “Fighting Striga” videos

The Striga problem, conception and production of the “Fighting Striga” videos

For the past 40 years, scientists from international research organizations such as ICRISAT, CIMMYT and IITA have invested heavily in finding solutions to one of the world’s most troublesome weeds, known as witchweed or Striga. Of great concern to African farmers, this parasite seriously damages maize, sorghum, millet, rice and fonio. While developing Striga-resistant varieties is a key area of research for Striga control, researchers have also developed insights into how soil fertility management and other options can help to reduce Striga. Scientific knowledge in itself proved insufficient to make an impact, as researchers and extensionists struggled to communicate effectively with farmers on such complex matters. Since 2006, ICRISAT and partners have conducted farmer field schools to experiment with a wide range of Striga control options. As a result, practical and profitable integrated Striga and soil fertility management (ISSFM) practices were developed for pearl millet and sorghum. However, bottlenecks such as the scarcity of skilled trainers and maintaining quality training have hampered scaling up. Through concerted efforts and intense collaboration with the private company Agro-Insight and ICRISAT partners in Niger, Nigeria, Ghana and Mali, a comprehensive series of 10 farmer-to-farmer videos related to ISSFM were produced in French and English and translated into six major West African languages (Bambara, Bomu, Hausa, Mooré, Peulh and Zarma) in the beginning of 2012.

Partnerships for distribution, viewing and use of “Fighting Striga”

All language versions were put onto a DVD called “Fighting Striga”, and a comprehensive “We will find someone to play the DVDs and watch the distribution and monitoring plan was made movie with our families and friends.” – Farmer trainers in Sindala village, Mali with key stakeholders from four focus countries, namely Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Burkina Faso. Partners included local, national and regional organizations, ranging from national research institutes, chambers of agriculture and NGOs to farmers’ organizations, rural radio stations and seed companies. Of 30,000 DVDs produced in Mali and Nigeria, over 20,000 copies have already been distributed to a range of organizations and individuals, representing old and new partners. ICRISAT distributed individual or large quantities of DVDs to partners and other strategic development agencies (first level), while these further distributed the DVDs within their own networks (second level), which in turn distributed copies even further (third level). Intensive data collection and monitoring reveal that within a year the DVDs had reached over 2,147 representatives of about 700 organizations from 43 countries.

Partnerships were key to large-scale viewing and dissemination of the videos as the numbers of viewers rose to over 15,000 within 9 months, mostly as a result of partners’ efforts. Although it has been a challenge to collect feedback from (especially non-contracted) partners, many enthusiastic new partners have provided interesting feedback. Several NGOs, farmers’ organizations and rural radio broadcasters have responded positively to the request for feedback and often requested more DVDs, technical support documents and training of their field agents. According to them, the videos represent an opportunity to quickly acquire new knowledge on the subject and to engage with large numbers of farmers for exposure to and discussions about ISSFM. They also noticed a shift in the roles of field agents, technicians and researchers, who evolved from being teachers to facilitators in knowledge exchange between farmers and other stakeholders.

“They [the farmers] enjoyed watching the [Arabic versions of the] videos, which encouraged them to “Large-scale community mobilization and engaging comment and fully participate in the discussions,” with them becomes easy when you do evening shows.” commented Noureldin Ahmed Abdalla of the Sudan -- Maziama Issoufou, Alheri SA Seed Company Meteorological Authority, Khartoum, Sudan. Doutchi, Niger.

It is too early to assess impact, but several partners in Mali and Niger osbserved communities mobilizing themselves to hand pull Striga near the end of the 2012 rainy season, as well as many farmers digging and filling compost pits. They said that it was a direct response to watching the videos on these topics.

“The communities understood that fighting Striga requires concerted efforts to attain results, and I have already seen examples of community action to hand pull Striga,” said Ali Mamane Aminou of the farmer organization FUMAGASKIYA in Maradi, Niger.

While the primary goals of the videos were to train farmers and extension agents, several universities in Africa and Europe have included the DVDs in BSc and MSc curricula. They found the videos useful in illustrating the reality of smallholder farming in Africa, while at the same time showing new technologies and approaches to participatory research. The “Fighting Striga” videos are effective because they are made according to the “zooming in” and “zooming out” method. This method relies on strong interactions with farmers who have been involved in participatory approaches such as farmer field schools, and results in regionally relevant and locally appropriate farmer-to-farmer training videos.

Promotion, buy-in and investment efforts from new partners

The international NGO Access Agriculture has established a video- and audio-sharing web-based platform (www.accessagriculture.org) devoted to supporting agriculture in developing countries. It uses advanced technologies in video streaming so that any organization can watch and download videos for farmers. Videos are also made physically available by large-scale multiplication and dissemination of DVDs based on national demand. In the meantime, the videos have been translated into seven languages for northern Ghana (Dagaari, Sisaala, Dagbani, Gonja, Kusaal, Buli and Frafra). Several governmental and non-governmental organizations have discovered the quality and relevance of the “Fighting Striga” videos and decided to invest in translation into new languages such as Arabic, Portuguese, Swahili (Kenya), Chichewa (Malawi), Dendi, Bariba and Nago (Bénin). Some agencies also supported large-scale production of DVDs and broadcasting the videos on national television, increasing visibility and availability even further. Through the promotion efforts of ICRISAT, Access Agriculture and partners, the videos are now reaching agricultural service providers and farmers not only in Western, but also in Eastern and Southern Africa. The big challenge now is to determine what impact these videos have on the adoption of the technologies and how this impacts on the productivity and livelihoods of small-scale farm households. In the next few years new partnerships and innovative approaches are needed to continue to produce videos on new subjects and monitor the impacts on large-scale farmer training and adoption.

Africa RISING has been one of the partners that paid for translation and helped distribute the videos. In July 2013, it also created awareness among extension agents at a workshop in Ghana. Let's talk money!

Participatory economic analysis of integrated Striga and soil fertility management in sorghum and pearl millet

For the last five years, ICRISAT and its partners have conducted farmer field schools (FFS) that aim at development of practical and affordable methods of integrated Striga and soil fertility management (ISSFM) for farmers in Mali, Niger and Nigeria.

The early stages consisted of village meetings in which scientists, technicians and male and female farmers got to know each other and discussed the local agricultural situation, main rain-fed crops and cropping systems. Focus groups then tried to quantify or map the occurrence of constraints in the village territory and possible reasons for these. Further exchanges took place to determine local knowledge about Striga and soil fertility and what farmers do to deal with these problems. These produced a common understanding which formed the basis for further activities. Where

Farmer-participant doing cost- benefit analysis Photo: ICRISAT farmers were interested, further plans were made to organize a farmer field school around the topic of Striga and soil fertility.

During further preparatory meetings, FFS participants were chosen by the villagers, an experimental field was identified and rules and responsibilities of the partners were determined. With the participants, a cropping calendar and protocol were developed for the dominant farmer practice (FP). Then, after having discussed local options for Striga control and increasing soil fertility and having amended these with any relevant options from research, the groups developed an ISSFM practice.

During the season, FP was tested against ISSFM on large plots and farmers observed the crops, Striga, their environment and other biotic constraints such as insects, weeds and diseases. They also learned more about crop development, soil fertility and fertilizers and Striga biology and control through interventions by specialists (technicians, scientists and sometimes other farmers). ISSFM can include intercropping of cereals and legumes, application of organic and mineral fertilizers, crop management practices such as ridging or hand pulling Striga at flowering, and sometimes a variety of cereal crop that is resistant to Striga.

After completing the trial, harvesting the plots and threshing and weighing the yields, interesting results were found. It became obvious that this approach can significantly reduce the Striga population and improve crop productivity and soil fertility in the long term, but the most important question that farmers posed was: Can we make money while applying this ISSFM practice?

This question is important and has become an essential part of the comparison of FP to ISSFM. At the end of the season, farmers participated in calculating the costs, revenues and profits of the two practices tested during the season. The economic analysis is a simplified version of what economists call a “partial budget analysis”. It consists of some simple phases that are, however, not always easy for farmers to follow.

The first phase involves comparing the yields of grains by weighing and by counting the number of bundles of stalks or haulms from FP and ISSFM plots. The second phase consists of listing the different activities for FP and ISSFM, and summing up labor requirement (in person-days) for different operations for FP and ISSFM. The additional labor time required for ISSFM (compared with FP) will be taken into account later as a cost for the ISSFM practice.

The third phase consists of calculating the costs, revenues and profits for FP and ISSFM. Costs (units of inputs such as seeds, fertilizers etc., multiplied by their market price at sowing) are deducted from the revenues (units of harvests multiplied by their current market price per unit) to calculate the profit for both practices.

Once the costs, revenues and profits have been calculated, a well informed comparison can be made between the two practices by the farmers. This always leads to lively discussions!

The final stage then consists of citing the advantages and disadvantages of individual component technologies used in the ISSFM practice, followed by preference ranking of these technologies. Lessons learned

 ISSFM requires more investment in terms of money and labor, but almost always leads to higher profits.  The return on investment of ISSFM is often not higher than that of FP, and this is a constraint for farmers to adopt the practice as tested in the FFS.  After having done the economic analysis, farmers now have the right information and capacity to choose which technologies to adopt in their own field according to their situation.  A sufficient quantity and quality of organic fertilizer is hard to find, and one needs animals, equipment and labor to produce, transport and apply it.  Mineral fertilizer requires a cash investment at a time when no money is available; therefore, credit for buying fertilizer is essential.

If one changes from a pure pearl millet or sorghum crop to an intercrop with legumes the profit increases significantly, because cowpea and groundnut haulms for animal feed garner very high prices on the market.

This approach will be used in Africa RISING as an integral part of the evaluation of trials on a range of crops and agronomic practices. In this way, we make sure farmers’ decisions on the use of technologies in their own fields will be based not only on information about yield (agronomy and variety characteristics), but also information about the costs (as a function of labor, seed, fertilizers, etc.) and benefits (net benefit, rate of return to investment) of technologies and crops tested. Mechanizing fertilizer microdosing technology: producers and extension agents trained in Mali

In June 2013, 29 farmers, members of farmer organizations (UCPTC) and field agents of NGOs (AMEDD, AMASSA) from Sikasso, Segou and Mopti regions of Mali attended a training session in Koutiala on mechanization of fertilizer microdosing. Applied manually until now, microdosing addresses low soil fertility, access to fertilizers and difficult climatic conditions in the Sahelian and Sudanean zones. The technology, developed by ICRISAT and partners, has contributed to increased production, productivity and farm incomes.

As a result of previous projects carried out by ICRISAT and partners such as the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA Microdose Project), some 25,000 smallholder farmers in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger obtained 44-120% more yield in sorghum and millet, along with a 30% increase in family incomes. Many growers and producers therefore agree that fertilizer microdosing is relevant and profitable.

Technician showing participants the special disk Photo: A. Diama, ICRISAT

However, a major constraint is that the technique is labor- and time-consuming and unsustainable for a majority of smallholders.

Kamkam Woumou is a Research Assistant at the Institute d’ Economie Rurale (IER) who provided the training. According to Woumou, “one constraint producers face when fertilizers are applied manually is the amount of time and labor required. IER scientists and partners were inspired to conduct research on mechanization of fertilizer microdosing technology by producers who mixed fertilizer with seeds at sowing to reduce this labor,” he said.

The new equipment developed by IER and its partners (including NORAGRIC and GCOZA) consists of a special disk and a particularly innovative planter based on the principle of simultaneous seed sowing and fertilizer application. Real-time work required (sowing and application of microdoses) for 1 ha can be reduced from 12 person-days when fertilizers are applied manually to only 1 person-day. In addition to reducing time and labor, mechanizing microdosing also helps farmers plant seedlings in straight rows and use the appropriate quantity of seeds and fertilizer for each pocket, optimizing productivity. The efficient use of fertilizers results in vigorous growth of the plants.

The first day of training, held in the Catholic mission in Koutiala, consisted of a presentation on the mechanical placement of seed and fertilizer. On the second day, participants were introduced to the equipment and its setting using different types of disks during a practical field session. Mechanization is based on the use of a disk placed inside the planter. The soaked seeds mixed with the fertilizer are administered using the planter at 30-50cm distance between pockets. The disks are manufactured by blacksmiths, and controlled and tested by IER.

The training was further complemented by a screening of “Fighting Striga” videos, which introduced a range of technologies to manage Striga and soil fertility such as intercropping, microdosing and compost production. At the end of the training, participants planned for trials in their intervention villages and protocols were developed for the experiments. Mechanized microdosing will be tested in Koutiala district as part of the Africa RISING project. If tested successfully, the technology will be made available on a large scale in Mali.

This training session was organized by ICRISAT in collaboration with IER as part the USAID-funded project Africa RISING and aligned with the CGIAR Research Programs on Dryland Systems and Dryland Cereals.

Africa RISING helps female scientists improve knowledge on experimental design and data analysis in Ghana

The USAID-funded Africa RISING research-for-development project in West Africa, led by IITA, partnered with Ghana’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to organize a short course in June 2013 for 15 female scientists. The scientists, drawn from 12 CSIR research institutions and universities around Ghana, participated in a two-week workshop on Experimental Design and Data Analysis. It was designed to help address the inefficiencies in research data analysis and interpretation and presentation of results. The timing of the training was critical, as it came immediately following a recent survey that revealed that over 90% of researchers had difficulty writing up their research for Participants during the workshop publication. The survey, conducted by the Netherlands-based CTA in sub-Saharan Africa, also showed that 40% of manuscripts submitted for publication in journals were rejected.

Opening the workshop, the Director General of CSIR, Dr. A.B. Salifu, emphasized the importance of quality research publications for the benefit of the scientific community and the public. He urged the participants to make the best of the workshop to improve their research output. The Deputy Director General of CSIR, Dr. (Mrs.) R.E.M. Entsuah-Mensah, who chaired the function, was delighted that the focus of the workshop was on female scientists. She was confident that the knowledge acquired during the training will go a long way to “promote the future of the Ghanaian female scientists.”

The Africa RISING West Africa Chief Scientist and Country Representative of IITA in Ghana, Dr. Asamoah Larbi, asked the participants to pay particular attention to proper research design and data analysis to ensure the scientific quality of their research. Participants indicated that the course will help address the difficulties encountered in data collection, analysis and presentation of results. “The knowledge gained from this course will ensure my ability to carry out experiments and interpret and share outputs with Participants with some of the officials stakeholders,” one participant remarked.

As part of the U.S. Government’s Feed the Future initiative aimed at addressing global hunger and food security, USAID is supporting multi-stakeholder agricultural research projects. Such projects are providing support to vulnerable women, children and family members – mostly smallholder farmers – to escape hunger and poverty.