MAKING AGRI-FOOD SYSTEMS WORK FOR THE RURAL POOR IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA

Collaborating Institutions

SUMMARY

Countries in the eastern and southern Africa (ESA) region continue to face chronic and acute food insecurity problems due to a complex combination of factors. Agricultural productivity has been impaired by declining soil fertility, degradation of natural resources, inefficient markets, weak institutions and policies. Recent statistics indicate that about 11 million people, 4.1 million and 3.8 million people in Kenya, Uganda, and Malawi respectively suffer from malnutrition. Food security situation is expected to continue deteriorating and will be much worse in the foreseeable future if concerted interventions are not taken up adequately. There is a broad agreement that improving agricultural productivity is crucial in resolving food crises, enhancing food security and accelerating pro-poor growth. However, most food security research and development programmes tend to focus on promoting technologies for a limited number of major crops in high potential, bread basket areas. These initiatives have neglected “orphan crops” or minor crops in vulnerable areas. Yet, these are locally important for food and household nutrition, and provide income opportunities for the most vulnerable and women in particular. They have the potential to diversify the farming systems, adapt to spread risks and are more resilient to climatic variations and climate change.
The overall goal of this project is therefore to stimulate the adaptation of pro-poor agri-food systems innovations as a contribution to improving food security and sustainable natural resource management in Eastern and Southern Africa. The specific objectives are: (i) to identify and promote local innovations and adaptation strategies that work for the poor rural men and women to cope with food security vulnerabilities; (ii) to adapt and scale up technology and market innovations for promoting orphan crops that enhance food security, increase incomes and ecosystem integrity in selected areas of Malawi, Kenya and Uganda; (iii) to analyze and promote specific policies and governance mechanisms for sustainable agri-food systems; and (iv) to determine mechanisms for scaling up agri-food systems and sustainable agriculture.
The project adopts a people centred agri-food system framework to create the long- and short-term developmental impacts by focusing on and giving more consideration to the inter-linkages between productivity, sustainable natural resource management, efficient markets and policies. Through repeated cycles of action research, the project will facilitate participatory varietal selection and farmer experimentation to test, adapt and scale up a range of technologies and innovations for improving the productivity and marketability of orphan or minor crops that have the potential to enhance food security, promote nutrition security, provide income opportunities and diversify farming systems to become more resilient to climatic vulnerabilities and food crises. Such technologies will integrate high yielding and drought resistant crop varieties and sustainable innovations for managemnt of soils and water resources, in order to achieve greater ecosystem integrity in selected areas. Institutional innovations will focus on promoting community-driven governance mechanisms and institutional arrangements to develop a strong policy and governance support system in the selected sites and countries. This is aimed at addressing the policy obstacles to the successful achievement of food security in the selected districts, and consequently drives accelerated and sustained adoption of agricultural technologies by smallholder farmers.
The project will be implemented by a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional and gender balanced team of researchers and development professionals in selected sites in Kenya, Uganda and Malawi. The sites are selected based on food security situation, agricultural potential and vulnerability analysis in the respective countries. These include areas considered as generally food secure with low resilience; border line food insecure and areas of acute food shortage and livelihood crisis. They include the semi-arid lands, medium to high potential areas with declining potential and the unexploited high potential. The selected sites will allow comparative analysis, cross-learning and regional syntheses.

Project Goal and Objectives

 The overall goal of this project is to enhance adaptation of pro-poor agri-food system innovations to improve food security and sustainable natural resource management in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) region. The specific objectives are:
a) To identify and promote local innovations and adaptation strategies that work for the poor rural men and women to cope with food security vulnerabilities.
b) To adapt and scale up technology and market innovations for promoting orphan crops that enhance food security, increase incomes and ecosystem integrity in selected areas of Malawi, Kenya and Uganda.
c) To analyze and promote specific policies and governance mechanisms for sustainable agri-food systems.
d) To determine mechanisms for scaling up agri-food systems and sustainable agriculture.

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