ISPC Science Forum 2016, Addis Ababa, 12-14 April 2016

1. Linkages Between Staple Crops Research and Poverty
Outcomes: Report of the breakout session
Jeffrey Alwang, Elisabetta Gotor,
Guy Hareau, Jordan Chamberlin,
Graham Thiele & Moti Jaleta
Facilitator: Ewen Leborgne

2. Agricultural research for rural prosperity: Rethinking the pathways www.scienceforum2016.org
Pathways from Research to Poverty Impacts
1. Productivity growth leading to increased market
supplies, lowering prices, making food more
affordable for the poor, and expanding
employment;
2. Adoption of new technologies by small-scale and
poor farmers leads to direct income gains; and
3. Reduced or avoided losses from shocks to
production allow marginal farmers to maintain their
productive base and avoid sliding into poverty.

3. Agricultural research for rural prosperity: Rethinking the pathways www.scienceforum2016.org
Questions for breakout groups (methods)
1. What are the current knowledge gaps related to poverty
impacts which research should prioritize?
Understanding at the household level the actual tradeoffs
between increasing productivity and risk and how that relates
to improving household income.
2. How can we better build an evidence base for poverty
impacts of international staple crop research?
Clear ex ante definition of impact pathways and expected
outcomes of the proposed research, key partnerships and
resources needed (including capacity building) for data
collection; ex post assessment needs to be based on identified
pathways

4. Agricultural research for rural prosperity: Rethinking the pathways www.scienceforum2016.org
Questions for breakout groups (actions – cont.)
3. What approaches and methods show promise for
identifying impacts of agricultural research on poverty?
Any method used must conceptualize a counterfactual and,
compare observed outcomes relative to the counterfactual.
4. What do we have to do – and with whom should we work –
in order to improve impact of international staple crop
research on poverty?
a) demand-driven research, b) agronomy/management; and c)
value chain development; better networking & communication
across various actors with whom we already work

5. Agricultural research for rural prosperity: Rethinking the pathways www.scienceforum2016.org
Questions for breakout groups (actions – cont.)
5. Should the primary goal of staple crop research simply be
lower food prices?
NO. Staple crop research should focus on both lowering prices
and strategies for alleviating the effect of low prices on the
producers, such as reducing production (and transaction) costs
and risks of climate change