International Conference on Integrated Systems Research

1. Integrated Systems
Research for
Sustainable
Intensification in
Smallholder
Agriculture
Conference synthesis

2. Overall master questions
1. How to move systems concepts into practice?
2. How do we move to scale and impact with systems research
& development?
3. What is the value added of that approach? (Why is systems
research needed to achieve this?)

3. DAY 1 – OPENING SESSION
CONTEXT
 Farmers are system managers
 Poverty reduction is multi-dimensional problem, a ‘wicked’
problem with many trade-offs
 Sustainable Intensification requires technological and
organizational innovation
 Integrate: science quality, partnerships, capacity development,
internal organization
POSITIONING OF SYSTEMS RESEARCH
 Systems CRPs were expected to contribute most
 Great need for a system approach with; agro-food systems focus
 We have an opportunity to put system CRPs back in the position
they were originally envisaged to occupy
 Too many test rounds in Africa

4. DAY 1 - CONCEPTUAL UNDERPINNINGS OF SYSTEMS
RESEARCH: SETTING THE SCENE
 Farming systems research has gone through progressive steps
adding more variables and fewer parameters
 Farmer empowerment as a guiding principle (e.g., farmers are
natural experimenters)
 Alignment with policy, education, and other research systems for
impact; scientist embedded within development processes
towards co-learning
 Need to identify leverage points for change for social equity and
gender
 Foresight is a crucial component to deal with uncertainty and
unpredictability towards resilience

5. DAY 1 – REFLECTIONS
 We have moved beyond farming systems research both in terms
of understanding and interventions
 That said, variation in participant’s perception on system
research, partly reflecting wide diversity of background
 This diversity is essential towards operationalizing systems
research; we have a good mix of disciplines that are interaction on
system issues and engaging with other stakeholder groups
 Hopefully in the following days, we’ll get clear examples on how
system research is implemented

6. DAY 2 - SUSTAINABLE INTENSIFICATION IN PRACTICE
 Leveraging interest in system research is required, e.g., through
alignment of Regional and National Investment Plans
 Diverse pathways exists towards improving livelihoods (e.g.,
intensification, diversification, specialization, exit)
 Nutrition is a system property interacting with various livelihood
system dimensions
 Markets are key in driving multi-stakeholder processes; private
sector engagement is essential
 System analytical tools operating at multiple scales are being
validated with direct engagement of stakeholders
 Nutrition and gender are leverage points towards system
improvement but will increase the density of trade-offs

7. DAY 2 – REFLECTIONS
 Excitement about concrete systems research examples being
implemented in different settings
 There is substantial progress with understanding systems and
identifying priority interventions towards their improvement
 Having activities on the ground provides a basis for advancing
system research, including connecting with actors across scales, co-
learning, and initiating scaling processes
 Within the next 2 years, we are confident that this will lead to
generating outcomes within target areas
 Hopefully, in day 3, we’ll learn more about how scalable these
initial interventions will be scalable beyond target areas

8. DAY 3 - PARTNERSHIPS AND INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
FOR INNOVATION, SCALING UP AND IMPACT
 Beyond G x E towards Options x Context leading to Performance
 Embracing heterogeneity at scale (biophysical, social, economic,
institutional, etc)
 Need to re-assess progress to feed within the O x C framework
 Platforms as integrators across many sub-systems constituting
livelihood systems
 Need to embed gender and equity within the operationalization of
platforms
 Good facilitation of multi-stakeholder processes is key to success
 Technological scaling very often requires institutional innovation
 Documentation/analysis of multi-stakeholder processes is critical
for enhancing their added value in achieving outcomes/impact

9. DAY 3 – REFLECTIONS
 The current focus is skewed towards productivity and NRM
innovations while scope for institutional innovations is clearly present
 Need to put a process in place to move beyond the current multi-
stakeholder engagements to reach millions
 Strengthen the exploration of opportunities for aligning with
existing development initiatives that have high potential to embed
system principles within their scaling strategy to achieve impact
 The prerequisites for good system research are in place; we have
2 years to generate anticipated outcomes and with initial impact;
tighter interactions between the various research clusters operating
with the target areas will be essential

10. KEY CONFERENCE OUTCOMES
1. Demonstrate and share experiences and evidence to the
effect that Systems Approaches in agriculture research are
effective and contribute to livelihoods and natural resource
management
 Systems approaches are being applied widely in theory and in
practice, and relevant to the development challenges across
agro-food systems
 Focus of many presentations towards early stage diagnosis and
with opportunities for implementation and impact
 Evidence of emerging outcomes, but need for synthesis of those
outcomes

11. KEY CONFERENCE OUTCOMES
2. Share methods, tools and research approaches used in
Systems Research
 Rich set of approaches operating at various scales being used
from the household to the landscape/markets/etc
 Participatory and action research approaches for integrated
analysis of systems (e.g., biophysical, institutional, political) and
system interventions
 There is a fertile space for cross-system CRP learning

12. KEY CONFERENCE OUTCOMES
3. Explore opportunities for new partnerships in Systems
Research for development
 Cross system CRP interactions
 New/strengthening of research and development partnerships
(CIRAD, WUR, NARS, Civil Society initiatives,etc)
 Other important avenues for influence and scaling (e.g., CAADP,
FARA, sub-regional organizations)

13. KEY CONFERENCE OUTCOMES
4. Identify opportunities for cross-system learning, and methods
to do this effectively
 Cross-system learning/co-learning
 Gender
 Systems approaches
 Capacity to innovate
 Nutrition
 Development and assessment of indicators
 Etc
 Communities of Practice as tool? Other suggestion?

14. Conference proceedings
 All conference presentations, footage, etc, is on the conference
website
 Book of proceedings (e.g., Earthscan) structured around the logic
of the conference; a mix of invited synthesis papers and individual
contributions
 Any other ideas?