http://www.fao.org/africa/events/detail-events/en/c/330741/ Presentation of Hamado Tapsoba, Regional representative for West Africa of CCRP, describing Agroecological intensification (AEI), Farmer Research Networks (FRN) and Context Interactions (OxC). The presentation was prepared and delivered in occasion of the Regional Symposium on Agroecology in sub-Saharan Africa, held in Dakar, Senegal on 5-6 November 2015. © FAO: http://www.fao.org

1. Improving the
performance of farming
systems through
Agroecological
intensification (AIE)
Hamado Tapsoba, PhD
Regional Representative for West Africa

2. The McKnight Foundation’s Collaborative Crop Research Program (CCRP) funds
collaborative research between smallholder farmers, leading local researchers, and
development practitioners to explore solutions for sustainable, local food systems.
Helping smallholder farmers feed their world
www.ccrp.org
The McKnight Foundation (www.mcknight.org)
The McKnight Foundation, a Minnesota-based family foundation, seeks to improve
the quality of life for present and future generations. Through grantmaking,
collaboration, and strategic policy reform, we use our resources to attend, unite, and
empower those we serve.
Collaborative Crop Research Program
Vision & Mission of the CCRP
The CCRP works to ensure a world where all have access to nutritious food that is
sustainably produced by local people.
We do this through collaborative agroecological systems research and knowledge-
sharing that strengthen the capacities of smallholder farmers, research institutes,
and development organizations.

3. Andes CoP
- Bolivia
- Ecuador
- Peru
West Africa CoP
- Burkina Faso
- Mali
- Niger
Eastern Africa CoP
- Ethiopia
- Kenya
- Uganda
Southern Africa CoP
- Malawi
- Mozambique
- Tanzania
www.ccrp.org
4 Communities of Practice (CoP)
Twelve countries on two continents where poverty and food
insecurity have created “hunger hot spots.”

4. 3 Concepts
AEI
OxCFRN

5. Agroecological intensification (AEI)
Improving the performance of agriculture through
integration of ecological principles into farm and system
management
Depending on the context, improved performance = any combination the following:
o increased productivity
o enhanced use of local resources
o maximized returns from external inputs
o improved stability and/or diversity of diets with associated increases in resilience
o environmental service provision from farmed landscapes

6. Agroecological intensification (AEI)
Characteristics of AEI
• Uses local and global knowledge to improve efficiency and effectiveness
of crop, tree, livestock, pest and disease, and soil management
• Enhances soil health and fertility, increases functional diversity, and
reduces pre- and post-harvest losses
• Contributes to the development of local value chains and diverse and
nutritious human diets
• Is flexible and responsive to local conditions, including farmers’ access to
inputs and markets
• Is based on evolving understanding of biophysical, socio-economic,
cultural, gender, and other contexts
• Reduces risk and increases productivity through enhanced resilience and
adaptation
• Requires cross-sector, multilateral collaboration

7. AEI levers and outcomes

8. • Component improvement
• Agroecological pest management
• Systems diversification
• Risk management
• Improving farm resource-use efficiency
• Social/technical innovation – Building human and social capital, and
collective action
• Improving functionality of value chains
• Influencing policy
• Cross-cutting capacities
AEI levers

9. Option by Context interactions (OxC)
One size does not fit all!
Very high level of social and biophysical heterogeneity
Environments
People
Heterogeneous Widely adapted
technologies => Rare
Need for local adaptation, innovation

10. G x E x M x S
Farmers group themselves
• Objectives
• Gender
• Interests
• Constraints – what is limiting?
• Resources – what is available?
Land size?
• Opportunities – market?
Social factors
Farmers group their farms
• Soil types
• Altitudes
• Slope
• Whatever they think is
important
Environmental factors
Form sub-sets of farmers with shared contexts factors
Context analysis  groups of farms (or groups of groups)
Option by Context interactions (OxC)

11. Farmer Research Networks (FRNs)
FRN
Farmers and Farmers’
organizations: Influence
the agenda; contribute a
bit of data and get a lot
more
Extension/NGOs:
Looking to empower
communities and
deliver benefits
Researchers: Like
farmers, need bigger data
to effectively match
options contexts
FRN structure
 A social innovation
 A type of multi-environment trial
 A way of linking social and technical innovation processes

12. Farmer Research Networks (FRNs)
FRN
Social capital: Farmer
organizations; innovative
intermediaries skilled in
facilitation
Technical capital:
Viable options
meet important
problem/opportunity
Methodological capital:
Multi-Environment Trials
(MET), participatory
methods, adult learning
Ingredients for an FRN

13. Farmer Research Networks (FRNs)
Principles
1. Situational Analysis
2. Mutual Benefit
3. Knowledge sharing and co-creation
4. Use research to discover hidden social and technical patterns.
5. Ongoing engagement
6. Inclusion and equity
7. Embedded scaling

14. 3 Concepts
AEI
OxCFRN
CCRP