Innovation platforms – scaling research findings in Lemo, Ethiopia
The Africa RISING project in the Ethiopian highlands acknowledged from its outset the importance of developing partnerships to successfully implement its action research to create opportunities for smallholder farmers through sustainable intensification of the crop-livestock farming system.
System interventions require the engagement of various research and development partners mainly at local level. Local Innovation Platforms (IPs) have been formed at research site levels to engage partners and to facilitate meaningful and effective interactions that help to prioritize, guide, and evaluate the various research and development processes that are implemented at household level. Read more on the local platforms.
The 2nd Lemo woreda innovation platform (IP) meeting was held in February 2015 in Hosanna. The aim was to share action research findings from 2014 to explore the potential for scaling up.
Forty eight people joined the meeting from the local communities, government line ministries, private sector, farmers union, local and international research organizations, NGOs and universities.
Preliminary findings of nine research for development activities carried out in Lemo woreda by different CGIAR centres with local stakeholders were presented. These included research on avocado, livestock feeds, soil fertility, barley, wheat, potato, enset and irrigation (see the project’s research protocols). The research involved 201 farmers (35 women) from Jawe and Upper Gana kebeles (more on these sites).
After a priority-setting exercise, participants discussed the five research protocols that were identified for scaling up. The groups also identified potential local partners for scaling up. The results showed that local partners have different capacities to support scaling up activities and require working together with other stakeholders within the platform. Key decision makers from the university, local research organizations and government administration actively participated and agreed to take some of the roles in scaling up that the platform members identified.
More on Africa RISING work in this woreda (Lemo)
