1. Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
Putting Nitrogen Fixation to
Work for Smallholder Farmers
in Africa
N2Africa

2. Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
• The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded
the four year grant to Wageningen University,
September 2009
• CIAT-TSBF and IITA are subcontractors leading
the implementation of the project partnering with
NARS, NGOs, CBOs, in the 8 countries: Nigeria,
Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, DR Congo, Zimbabwe,
Malawi and Mozambique
• Main crops: soybean, groundnut, cowpea and
common bean – and legume forages

3. Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
N2Africa Action Sites

4. Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
N2Africa: Research & development
Development: making best varieties,
inoculants, agronomic practices available
to farmers, market linkages
Research: on agronomy, rhizobiology and
unique opportunity for comparative
research between 8 countries

5. Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
Why legumes?
Legumes have great potential to address soil
fertility problems in Sub-Saharan Africa, linking
protein & nitrogen needs of African farmers
Presents a mechanism of renewable soil fertility
management through N2-fixation and crop
rotations
Provides farmers with improved nutrition options
and income-generating crop production
enterprises

6. Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
Vision of success
To raise legumes yields by 954 kg/ha, to
increase average BNF by 46 kg/ha, and
to increase average incomes by $465,
benefiting 225,000 households
(1,800,000 individuals) from Nigeria,
Ghana, DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, Malawi,
Mozambique, Zimbabwe.

7. Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
• Increase the area of land cropped with legumes
• Increase legume productivity - agronomy and P
fertilizer
• Select better legume varieties
• Select better rhizobium strains and inoculate
• Link to markets and create new enterprises to
increase demand for legumes
Increase of overall legume production:

8. Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
Objectives
1. Establish a baseline of the current status of N2-
fixation, identify farm enterprises and niches
for targeting N2-fixing legumes in the impact
zones, and establish mechanisms for
monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and impact
assessment
2. Identify and field-test multi-purpose
legumes that provide income, food, animal
feed, and high quality crop residues with
enhanced N2-fixation and integrate improved
varieties into farming systems

9. Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
Objectives
3. Collect and characterize superior rhizobia
strains for enhanced N2-fixation and develop
inoculum production capacity in sub-
Saharan Africa through collaboration with
private sector partners
4. Deliver legumes, inoculant technologies and
associated N2-fixation technologies to farmers
throughout sub-Saharan Africa
5. Develop and strengthen capacity for N2-
fixation research, technology development, and
application

10. Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa

11. Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa

12. Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
Utilization of inputs (West Kenya)
With P Without P

13. Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
control +Pfert +ino +Pfert+ino

14. Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
maize following maize maize following climbing beans

15. Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
Central-East Africa (DRC, Rwanda, W-Kenya):
- Farmers planted for 2nd time
West Africa (Ghana, Nigeria):
- Farmers planted in June/July – harvesting
Southern Africa (Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe):
- 1st growing season is about to begin, lead farmers have been
trained, inputs are being distributed
Progress

16. Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa

17. Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
Monitoring & Evaluation
• Characterization of impact zones

18. Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
N2Africa Impact Zones

19. Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa

20. Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
Monitoring & Evaluation
• Characterization of impact zones
• Baseline survey (400 HH in 8 countries, gender
disaggregated data, some qst on decision making,
control of harvests, etc)
• In-depth income & nutrition – still to be done
• Detailed farm characterizations

21. Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
Monitoring & Evaluation
Participatory farmer evaluations of trials &
demo‟s

22. Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
• Participatory farmer evaluations of trials &
demo‟s
• M&E indicators & development of instruments
• Developing tools for evaluating dissemination
approach (adoption)
Monitoring & Evaluation

23. Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
Gender – where does it come in?
• Legumes considered to be “women‟s crops” in
many places in Africa
• Legumes often have direct impact on household
nutrition
• Opportunities to engage women in processing &
marketing
• Crucial importance of „gender‟ is recognized by
participating organisations & donor, but….

24. Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
But….
• Insufficient expertise at level of project staff
• Diversity across countries  need for very
context-specific strategies
• Profit making processing cq marketing offers
opportunities but also at risk to be taken over by
men – no strategies in place (yet) to address this
challenge
• Late action on gender – part of the project
proposal & activities, but no „action-priority‟ on
gender

25. Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
Assets
• Framework is useful - stimulated us to look at
N2Africa from a different perspective

26. Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
www.n2africa.org