On 23-24 May, the project team had its inception meeting at the campus of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Addis Ababa to review the project proposal, discuss the key dimensions to consider in the project, consider a number of relevant building blocks – such as rainfall data, spatial data, water productivity, how to collect information required – and devise an action plan.

The project team are documenting progress on a dedicated page of the Africa RISING wiki.

See the work plan and data table from the workshop on the wiki / download the project proposal / view all outputs of the project

More ‘early win’ projects

The Africa RISING program comprises three linked research-for-development projects, funded by the USAID Feed the Future Initiative, and aiming to sustainably intensify mixed farming systems in West Africa (Southern Mali and Northern Ghana), the Ethiopian Highlands and East and Southern Africa (Tanzania, Zambia and Malawi).

To produce some short-term outputs and to support the longer term objectives of the projects, in 2012 Africa RISING funded several small, short-term projects in each of the regions. More information.

The objectives of the workshop were to present the collaborative network Weedsbook and the AFROweeds identification tool and database to potential users in Tanzania, to demonstrate how to make a herbarium and field pictures of weeds, provide guidelines for identifying weed species, and finally register new members to Weedsbook.

The overall aim was to build local capacities in weed identification and management in Tanzania and to connect Tanzanian weed scientists and students to their peers in the wider region. 37 participants (including 15 students) attended this workshop.

Read the workshop report / Download the project proposal / view all outputs of the project

More ‘early win’ projects

The Africa RISING program comprises three linked research-for-development projects, funded by the USAID Feed the Future Initiative, and aiming to sustainably intensify mixed farming systems in West Africa (Southern Mali and Northern Ghana), the Ethiopian Highlands and East and Southern Africa (Tanzania, Zambia and Malawi).

To produce some short-term outputs and to support the longer term objectives of the projects, in 2012 Africa RISING funded several small, short-term projects in each of the regions. More information.

The April-May 2012 issue of Spore reports on developments in Africa.

Farmers and scientists from a related proejct test feed assessment tools in Ethiopia

Last week, the International Livestock Research Institute hosted an inception workshop for the Africa-RISING ‘quick feed‘ project.

Werner Stür, forages expert on the project, reflects on his visit:

I very much enjoyed the workshop. There is a really good team of scientists from Ethiopia, ILRI and ICARDA with a broad range of backgrounds and we had very good discussions on how to tackle the question of using improved feeding strategies as the catalyst for intensification of smallholder livestock systems. We agreed on research sites in the Ethiopian highland, a focus on dairy and sheep value chains, and local partnerships for the project which will work in Arsi, Bale and Bako.

I also had a chance to visit two of the three research sites and discuss the project and its operations with scientists and Center Directors at Kulumsa and Sinana Agricultural Research Centers in Arsi and Bale together with my colleague Abate Tedla from ILRI. They were very supportive of the project and agreed to allocate staff from their livestock, feeding and socio-economic sections to work with the project. It was all very positive and I am sure the collaboration with the research centers will be very fruitful and stimulating.

I found the landscape and agricultural systems in Arsi and Bale very interesting. Rolling hills with gentle slopes, fertile soils, reasonable rainfall provide the basis for productive crop-livestock production. There is huge potential for improving both crop and livestock production. Farmers may be able to grow dual-purpose grain legumes, fodder crops and high-yielding grasses to provide additional feed for their animals. There are also opportunities for ‘smarter feeding’, improved animal management, health and breeding – provided we can improve the feed base.

After our field visit we developed and agreed on a work plan, and the roles and responsibilities of the scientists and partners involved in the project. I very much enjoyed being part of the planning process and I am confident that the project will produce good results.

A related post on  barriers to the uptake of improved feeding strategies

More information on the project

More information on the inception workshop

Related ACIAR-funded project on feed assessment in Ethiopia

Sign up for email alerts on feeds and fodder research at ILRI

• Project management including ensuring appropriate liaison with the donor, with international and national partners, establishment of agreements, financial management and reporting, technical reporting, logistical support for implementation.
• Engage with key national government partners to ensure research activities and outputs are aligned with national priorities
• Engage with development organisations to ensure that research outputs are translated into development outcomes
• Establish and maintain an effective multidisciplinary and multi-organisation team of scientists and development partners that will ensure smooth inter-centre collaboration in implementing an integrated approach for improving the productivity of the targeted systems.
• Liaise with the other two projects in the AFRICA RISING Program to build synergies and identify opportunities for cross-learning and liaise with the Monitoring and Evaluation Team that is providing M&E input to all three projects.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of an effective communication strategy for the project
• Participate in implementing research that integrates at the farm level elements of crop, livestock and natural resource management technologies for sustainable intensification.  In particular the coordinator will be expected to contribute to research on crop-livestock interactions.

Full details and how to apply

The project aims to support more effective use of feed by crop-livestock farmers (including supply and quality, impacts on livestock production and product appeal and links to markets). The project builds on an ongoing Ethiopian Livestock Feed Project. Some of the approaches for rapid feed assessment and value chain analysis will be common to the two projects but the emphasis in the USAID Early Win will be on crop-livestock interactions.

The specific objectives of the project are:

1. To characterise the nature of crop-livestock interactions based on feed and identify opportunities for strengthening these through improved production, quality or augmentation with purchased inputs.
2.  To assess the broad potential implications of improved crop-livestock integration / intensification for sustainable feed supply in the target sites.
3.  To assess the state of feed value chains in facilitating improved feed use on crop-livestock farms.
4.  To use the above information to allow future trends to be predicted and to support interventions to enhance smallholder-based feed supply and trade.

Download the project proposal / view all outputs of the project

More ‘early win’ projects

The Africa RISING program comprises three linked research-for-development projects, funded by the USAID Feed the Future Initiative, and aiming to sustainably intensify mixed farming systems in West Africa (Southern Mali and Northern Ghana), the Ethiopian Highlands and East and Southern Africa (Tanzania, Zambia and Malawi).

To produce some short-term outputs and to support the longer term objectives of the projects, in 2012 Africa RISING funded several small, short-term projects in each of the regions. More information.

The project aims to review, test and provide a package of outputs that together will better define areas of priority where gains in crop and livestock productivity to reduce poverty could be brought about by increased water use efficiency, greater/better use of water storage structures and opportunities and constraints for interventions.

The outputs will be:

1. a review document detailing the opportunities for developing indicators of water use, water constrained agriculture and water vulnerable agricultural
2. a series maps showing where particular regions have specific opportunities or constraints from water use and management in relation to reducing poverty through better targeting of agricultural practices.

Download the project proposal / view all outputs of the project

More ‘early win’ projects

The Africa RISING program comprises three linked research-for-development projects, funded by the USAID Feed the Future Initiative, and aiming to sustainably intensify mixed farming systems in West Africa (Southern Mali and Northern Ghana), the Ethiopian Highlands and East and Southern Africa (Tanzania, Zambia and Malawi).

To produce some short-term outputs and to support the longer term objectives of the projects, in 2012 Africa RISING funded several small, short-term projects in each of the regions. More information.

The project aims to improve the productivity of crop-livestock production system in the Bale highlands of Oromiya region of Ethiopia by integrating all important components of pulses in mixed farming systems.

The specific objectives are to:

1. Identify and promote suitable high-yielding varieties adapted to various agro-ecological conditions in the Bale highlands of Oromia regions
2. Develop and disseminate improved integrated crop management packages, including IPM, conservation technologies to increase production and farm income of crop-livestock production systems
3. Develop seed production, storage and distribution systems to make small and marginal farmers self-reliant and self- sufficient in seed requirements
4. Implement capacity development programs for different stakeholders

Download the project proposal / view all outputs of the project

More ‘early win’ projects

The Africa RISING program comprises three linked research-for-development projects, funded by the USAID Feed the Future Initiative, and aiming to sustainably intensify mixed farming systems in West Africa (Southern Mali and Northern Ghana), the Ethiopian Highlands and East and Southern Africa (Tanzania, Zambia and Malawi).

To produce some short-term outputs and to support the longer term objectives of the projects, in 2012 Africa RISING funded several small, short-term projects in each of the regions. More information.

The project aims to underpin the Ethiopian Climate Resilient Green Economy Initiative by providing early win tree species and management options for integrating fruit, fodder, fuelwood, fertilizer and timber trees in fields, farms and landscapes. This will enable sustainable intensification of farm systems by expanding the scope of options promoted by the initiative, and by targeting species and management options appropriately to sites and farmer circumstances. In the process, we will build a durable partnership amongst national and international institutions that will be well-placed to further refine the options available and their targeting.

A novel aspect is bringing together tree, crop and livestock expertise to address the whole farm and landscape context. This is critical for the success of integrating trees in fields where they may compete as well complement crops, and where the management of livestock grazing is fundamental to the success of tree establishment.

The outputs include:

1. Local knowledge about integration of trees in fields, farms and landscapes documented.
2. Best bet tree species and management options identified.
3. Needs for development of the tree seed and seedling supply sector assessed.
4. Effective partnerships for promoting tree-crop-livestock integration to underpin the climate resilient green economy initiative established.

Download the project proposal / view all outputs of the project

More ‘early win’ projects

The Africa RISING program comprises three linked research-for-development projects, funded by the USAID Feed the Future Initiative, and aiming to sustainably intensify mixed farming systems in West Africa (Southern Mali and Northern Ghana), the Ethiopian Highlands and East and Southern Africa (Tanzania, Zambia and Malawi).

To produce some short-term outputs and to support the longer term objectives of the projects, in 2012 Africa RISING funded several small, short-term projects in each of the regions. More information.

The project aims to adapt and test the use of system and participatory research (including farmer diversity) in current R4D initiatives on integration and intensification of crop-livestock production at a farm and community level for the Ethiopian Highlands.

The specific objectives of the project are:

1. To build on past and current experience relevant conceptual and methodological approaches to better target R4D at farm and community levels, accounting for household diversity and gender, and using the combination of disciplines needed.
2. To enhance the development of co-learning, integrative and iterative processes to improve farmers and other stakeholders to access, assess and adopt potential promising options (e.g. technologies) to improve crop-livestock integration and intensification.
3. To facilitate the collaboration and coordination of similar research and development initiatives by sharing experiences and results with different partners.

Download the project proposal / view all outputs of the project

More ‘early win’ projects

The Africa RISING program comprises three linked research-for-development projects, funded by the USAID Feed the Future Initiative, and aiming to sustainably intensify mixed farming systems in West Africa (Southern Mali and Northern Ghana), the Ethiopian Highlands and East and Southern Africa (Tanzania, Zambia and Malawi).

To produce some short-term outputs and to support the longer term objectives of the projects, in 2012 Africa RISING funded several small, short-term projects in each of the regions. More information.