The Africa Research in Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation (Africa RISING) program comprises three research-for-development projects supported by the United States Agency for International Development as part of the U.S. government’s Feed the Future initiative.
Through action research and development partnerships, Africa RISING will create opportunities for smallholder farm households to move out of hunger and poverty through sustainably intensified farming systems that improve food, nutrition, and income security, particularly for women and children, and conserve or enhance the natural resource base.
The three regional projects are led by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (in West Africa and East and Southern Africa) and the International Livestock Research Institute (in the Ethiopian Highlands). The International Food Policy Research Institute leads the program’s monitoring and evaluation project.
The overall aim is to transform agricultural systems through sustainable intensification projects in three regions of Africa:
- West Africa: Sustainable intensification of cereal-based farming systems – led by IITA
- Ethiopian Highlands: Sustainable intensification of crop-livestock systems – led by ILRI
- East and Southern Africa: Sustainable intensification of maize-legume-livestock integrated farming systems – led by IITA
These regions were chosen based on analysis of cropping systems, poverty, population, country development priorities, and the potential for successfully improving agricultural productivity.
These projects will also contribute to the CGIAR’s integrated ‘systems’ research programs on drylands and on the humid tropics.