Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Cropping
Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa
SIMLESA Experiences and Lessons
Mulugetta Mekuria and Team SIMLESA
Program Leader
CIMMYT Southern Africa Regional Office
Harare, Zimbabwe
Beating Famine Southern Africa Conference
Lilongwe, Malawi April 14th – 17th 2015

Outline of the Presentation
• The what and Why of Sustainable
Intensification(SI)
• The Problem Setting
• CIMMYT’s and its partners Response: SIMLESA
• SIMLESA First Five Years Journey: Lessons and
Insights
• Take Home messages

The problem setting
Low productivity Scarce biomass Land degradation
Poor marketsClimate variability Limited resouces

What is SI?
• Sustainable intensification (SI) means
producing more output from the same area of
land while reducing the negative environmental
impacts and at the same time improving natural
resources and environmental services.
• Sustainable intensification is receiving growing
attention as a way to address the challenge of
feeding an increasingly populous and resource-
constrained world

Sustainable Intensification
Sustainability
•Conserve the natural
resource base (Godfray et al.,
2010; Pretty et al., 2011; Tilman et al., 2011)
•Ecologically and
technically sound eg soil
quality degradation through erosion,
fertility decline
•Socially and Culturally
acceptable ( Do the technologies
fit local farming systems?)
•Economically viable (does
it make economic sense?)
Intensification
•Increased yield or outputs per
unit area/inputs (Enhance
productivity)
•Diversification from maize for
diet diversification and improved
incomes
•Integration of crops & livestock
•Improved resilience to market
shocks and climate risks
•Improved efficiency per unit
input eg water, labour, capital,
inputs
Improved food security and livelihoods

Why SI
The use of sustainable intensification in current debates is
based upon three fundamental assumptions about
agricultural production systems in the 21st century(iied,2015)
• The world must produce significantly more food in the
coming decades to feed a growing, increasingly affluent
population.
• The arable land base cannot be expanded significantly.
Agricultural production must preserve the natural capital
on which sustainable and resource use efficient to
agriculture relies.

Rationale for Investing in SI
(John Dixon ACIAR 2014)
The pressure on land, water and energy
resources was reflected in increasing prices, for
example the crisis in 2008. The declining real
prices during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s led to
complacency and neglect of public and private
investment in agricultural innovation.
A commitment to sustainable intensification is
the best way to turn this around

• Executed by CIMMYT with
financial Grant from ACIAR
• Phase 1-2010-2013
SIMLESA2 2014-2018
PARTNERS-NARS
• EIAR, KARI, DRD,DARS , IIAM,
spill over NARO,RAB, DAR
• Regional/International
• QAAFI, ARC, ASARECA, ILRI
,CIAT
• - CCARDESA(phase2),

SIMLESA Enhancing Integration,
Innovation and Impact
Vision of Success
• To increase maize and legume yields by 30% while
sustaining the environment through:
• Conservation agriculture practices
• Improved maize and legume varieties
• Development of markets and value chains, from input
supplies to output markets.
• To reduce downside yield risks by 30%
• To benefit 650,000 farm households within 10 years.

Approaches
3+3- Is
INTEGRATION (SYSTEMS)
INNOVATION PLATFORMS
IMPACT ORIENTATION
Information
Inputs
Institutions/policy
Complimentary projects: DTMA, TL-II
ACIAR/AIFSC- AP, ZIMCLF, FACASI, TF-ICRAF

System integration:
Diversification through Cereal (Maize)-Legume Integration
Legumes
• Increase soil fertility
• Improved nutrition
• Supply cashCereal (Maize)
• Increased productivity
– Ensured food security
– Income security
-Increase productivity
-Increase profitability
-Reduce down side risk
Forage
• Alternative of cattle
feeding (residue
management)
• Improved animal
nutrition

The SIMLESA journey
2009 – SIMLESA I formulation workshop, Lilongwe
2010 – teams, field sites, capacity building
2011 – ARPM, Nairobi
2012 – ARPM, Arusha
2013 – ARPM, Chimoio
2014 – ARPM, Addis Ababa
Start of SIMLESA II
2015 – ARPM Harare

SIMLESA I (2010 – 2013)
Made considerable progress in each
of the target countries
Ethiopia,
Kenya
Tanzania,
Malawi
Mozambique
‘Steady flight path’

SIMLESA I (2010 – 2013)
• Characterization of maize-legume
production and value chain systems;
• Testing of promising smallholder
maize-legume cropping systems;
• Increasing the range of maize and
legume varieties available for
smallholders;
• Developing regional and local
innovations systems;
• Substantial capacity building of
agricultural research partners

1. Strengths of SIMLESA-1
• considered as a model for Effective partnerships
-NARS and other major donors’ testimonies
• Multi-stakeholder
• NARS empowered and enabled to make good amount of operational
decisions on program activities and thrust
• NARS receive a relatively higher funds compared to other projects
• Joint data ownership with NARS
• Developed good collaboration and partnership arrangements between
CIMMYT and NARS based on trust and respect between players
• NARS empowered and enabled to make decisions on program activities
and thrust
• Joint presentations and development of publications between CIMMYT
and NARS

• NARS participation at high Profile conferences and
congresses- paper and poster presentations-
• Journal articles published
• 5th World Congress on CA -Brisbane, Australia -2011
• 6th World Congress on CA Winnipeg ,Canada June 2014
• International Agronomy Conference-India 2012
• International Agricultural Economics Conference, August
2012 Brazil
• Other country and regional meetings( IACAC, AGRF, FARA..)
2. Science outputs

3. SIMLESA: BEING INSTITUIONALIZED AS NARS
STARATEGY / FRAMEWORK
• Systems and integrated approach
• Value Chain Analysis
• Innovation Platforms
• Mainstreaming Gender
• Institutionalizing and capacity building in M&E

TRENDS OF SIPS ADOPTION SPREAD (% HHLDS): KENYA
75
88
72 69
20
2
76
89
72
48
26
4
Improved maize
variety
Inorganic fertilizer Maize/legume
intercrop
Crop residue
retention
Maize/legume
rotation
Conservation
agriculture
2011 (N=613) 2013 (N=535)

ADOPTION OF MAIN SAIPS BY GENDER OF
HHEAD (% HHLDS): KENYA
79
71 71
47
59
82
59
53
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Improved maize
variety
Maize legume
intercropping
Inorganic fertilizer Crop residue on the
farm
Male (N=447) Female (N=88) N=535

Country Research communities Targeted and reach
Country Target Reached
Target Achieved Male Female Total
Ethiopia 54 54 10,454 8,781 1,673 10,454
Kenya 38 30 8,913 5,364 8,236 13,600
Tanzania 38 40 8,913 6,715 3,128 9,843
Malawi 36 36 8,022 2,177 2,263 4,440
Mozambique 36 36 8,022 6,222 2,419 8,641
Total 202 196 44,323 29,259 17,719 46,978
Adoption monitoring of technologies/ practices
97% of targeted communities have been reached
So far the project has reached 106% of the targeted households

Adoption monitoring of technologies/ practices
Country Target and actual adoption
Country Targeted adopters Farmer who have Tried
Male Female Total
Ethiopia 3,800 3,192 608 3,800
Kenya 3,240 1,401 2,066 3,467
Tanzania 3,240 2,088 1,199 3,287
Malawi 2,916 1,137 1,089 2,226
Mozambique 2,916 3,763 2,026 5,789
Total 16,112 11,581 6,988 18,569

Maximum impact through adoption of suites of technologies
Additionalincomeduetomultipleadoptionof SIPsinMalawi(inUSD/ha)
Note:V-Improvedmaizevarieties;I-legume-maizeintercropping,andR-legume-maize
rotation).
Input into Agronomist and
breeders work

Key lessons
• Link farm production with better
domestic value chains, often the first
step in international trade opportunities
• Focus on competitiveness, driven by
increased productivity as well as
efficient value chains
• Engage agribusiness from the start in
order to understand market forces, risk
and research priorities

Key lessons
• Integrate value chains activities with
technologies, capacity building and
local policy analysis, in innovation
platforms
• Consult women during project design
and implementation
• Understand the incentives of all chain
members and value chain dynamics
within the broader market and trade
context

Take home messages
Four critical aspects of SI which require particular attention:
• systems research and development – beyond disciplinary
components;
• innovation systems bridging research and scaling out;
• policies, institutions and business partnerships; and
• monitoring and evaluation of sustainable intensification
systems.

SI: The Building Blocks

Come join the SIMLESA Family- with a
passion for Impact-
They are the future GAME CHANGERS in
Agricultural Research and Development

Sustainable intensification through CA in Africa is not
only necessary but urgent
Acknowledgment
SIMLESA Partners including Farmers
ACIAR and CIMMYT Colleagues