1. Innovations in targeting African farming
systems for improved productivity and
investment impact
FARA AASW Sub-theme 2
Accra, 19 July 2013
John Dixon
Principal Regional Coordinator
South Asia & Africa, ACIAR

2. Contents
Challenges for ARD
Approaches to targeting
Farming systems
Conclusion

3. Challenge 1: food requirements in 2050
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
1970 1990 2010 2030 2050
GlobalFoodDemand(Petacal/day)
Year
71% increase 2010
to 2050
129% increase
1970 to 2010
Source: Keating et al 2012
Goal:
“feeding
9 billion”

4. Century trends: population, agric prices
Source: Fuglie & Wang 2012

5. Regional trends:
African extensification cf Asian intensification
 Source:
World Bank, 2008
In some African
countries, areas
of under
utilized
agricultural
land

6. Challenge 2: current hunger & poverty
Goal: “eliminate poverty
for 1 billion poor”

7. Pathways out of smallholder poverty
Intensification
20%
Diversification
30%
Exit
10%
Off-Farm
Income
20%
Farm Size
20%
Example: maize mixed farming system
in east and southern Africa

8. Some of the constraints …
Low productivity
Scarce biomass
Land degradation
Poor marketsClimate variability
Limited resouces

9. A response:
Sustainable Intensification Systems
Increased productivity and resilience without loss of resource
quality, through:
• Commodity or NRM programs
• Augmented by “systems” components
Four pillars require investment:
• Systems and farming systems
• Innovation systems and information sharing
• Policies, institutions and markets
• Metrics and monitoring

10. Where and how to target sustainable
intensification and agric R&D
 Current targeting is often organized by
administrative or agro-ecological zones
 Potential for improved targeting to ..
• Improve efficiency and impact, e.g., research
productivity
• Align better with other programs and partners
 Targeting by farming systems is generally
more efficient than by administrative divisions
or agro-ecological zones

11. African farming systems framework
NOTES
Too much
diversity for
research & policy
decisions
Differentiate broad
farming systems,
each with a “core
concept” and
specific R4D
priorities
NB. A similar classification
exists for North Africa

12. Contrasting sub-systems: Highland
Perennial farming system Central Highlands Western Highlands
Population density +++ ++++
Farm size +++ ++
Market infrastructure ++ +
Poverty 30% poor >60% poor
Crop area 35% maize
17% tea
17% coffee
More high value crops
42% maize
8% tea
10% coffee
% of improved cattle 95%
22% of crop area in
fodder
Zero-grazing increasing
67%
11% in fodder
Value of production 102K KSh/household 44K KSh/household
Use of fertilizers 122 kg/ha
74 manure bags
51 kg/ha
26 manure bags
SYSTEM LEVEL
High population density
High agricultural potential
Permanently cultivated systems
Market-orientation as a way to intensify systems
SUBSYSTEM LEVEL
Differentiate

13. Drivers of farming system change
• Population, hunger and poverty
• Natural resources and climate
• Energy
• Human capital and information (gender)
• Technology and science
• Markets and trade
• Institutions and policies

14. Productivity and risk
e.g., possibilities to 2030 in Australia
Carberry et al. 2011

15. Applying farming systems targeting
Value add at regional scale
 Differentiating regional strategic priorities
 Framing technology spillovers across countries
 Potential framework for monitoring progress (CAADP ..
Value add at national scale
 Enrich existing planning frameworks
 Support CAADP investment plans

16. Some implications in Africa
• Foresight needed to specify plausible future scenarios
• Increased productivity of existing food production without
diversification risks poverty traps
• Small holders have comparative advantage in integrated
management-intensive production
• Research on institutional innovations for gender
sensitive access to services (beyond markets), access to
resources (land, water, .) and options for risk management

17. Conclusion
 Twin challenges (of feeding 9 billion in 2050
and addressing current poverty of 1 billion)
can be met through targeted research and
scaling out (supported by other programs)
 Farming systems offers an efficient targeting
framework to support CAADP Investment
Plans
• Within countries, to enrich existing approaches
• Within sub-regions, for strategic priorities and
spillovers

18. ACIAR
Thank you for your
attention