Blogs

In 2012, Africa RISING funded an ‘early win’ project in Ethiopia led by the CGIAR Systemwide Livestock Programme, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT).

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.

Watch an interview with Alan Duncan and Diego Valbuena introducing two related projects:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geubHaucnQ0&w=560&h=315]

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.