CGIAR Initiative on Diversification in East and Southern Africa

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/117911

Part of the CGIAR Action Area on Resilient Agrifood Systems.

Primary CGIAR impact area: Climate adaptation and mitigation

https://www.cgiar.org/initiative/21-ukama-ustawi-u2-water-secure-and-climate-resilient-agricultural-livelihoods-in-east-and-southern-africa/

Browse

Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 20 of 496
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Conservation agriculture can enhance maize productivity in high-rainfall regions: Nine-year evidence from Northern Zambia
    (Journal Article, 2025-08) Mhlanga, Blessing; Kalala, Kelvin; Thierfelder, Christian
    Conservation Agriculture (CA) is often perceived to underperform in high-rainfall regions, leading to limited research and promotion in such environments. In Zambia, most CA studies have focused on Southern and Eastern regions, with little emphasis on Northern Zambia, despite its need for improved productivity and sustainability. Understanding CA's performance in high-rainfall areas is critical for sustainable agricultural intensification. This nine-year study in Northern Zambia evaluated the effects of cropping systems and rainfall variability on maize productivity, soil pH, and soil organic carbon (SOC) using a randomized complete block design. Three CA-based cropping systems were compared to two conventional tillage systems. Yearly precipitation showed significant interannual variability, influencing maize grain yield in a complex cubic response pattern, highlighting nonlinear interactions between cropping systems and rainfall. CA-based systems generally outperformed conventional tillage, particularly in moderate to below-average rainfall years, demonstrating resilience under drier conditions. However, conventional ridge and furrow tillage outperformed CA systems during exceptionally high rainfall years, likely due to better drainage. Over time, yield declines indicated soil fertility depletion, though CA-based systems slowed this decline compared to conventional tillage. Rainfall was identified as a primary driver of cropping system performance, with CA-based systems performing better in below-average to moderate rainfall years and tillage-based systems in excessive rainfall years. Soil pH increased significantly under basin planting at 5–15 cm and 30–60 cm depths, while SOC accumulation was highest at 60–90 cm under ridge and furrow tillage. These findings suggest that while CA can enhance maize productivity in high-rainfall regions, site-specific management strategies are needed to mitigate waterlogging and sustain soil fertility. Further research is needed to explore soil-water dynamics and optimize CA practices under varying rainfall regimes.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Needs assessment to enhance public-private partnerships in smallholder irrigation development and management in Ethiopia
    (Report, 2025-07-04) Seyoum, A.; Adamseged, Muluken Elias; Haileslassie, Amare; Ires, Idil; Jacobs-Mata, Inga
    Ethiopia has significant untapped irrigation potential, but progress in the sector remains constrained by sole reliance on public investment, governance challenges, and limited private sector participation. Recognizing these issues, the Government of Ethiopia has prioritized Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) as a strategy to accelerate irrigation development, enhance agricultural productivity, and improve rural livelihoods. In collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Irrigation and Lowlands, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) conducted a comprehensive needs assessment to identify stakeholder priorities and guide the development of viable PPP business models for smallholder irrigation. This study, part of the CGIAR Diversification in East and Southern Africa (UU) initiative and Scaling for Impact Science Program, is designed to inform the national guidelines for PPP implementation in Ethiopia’s smallholder irrigation sector. The report presents insights from extensive stakeholder mapping, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions across multiple regions in Ethiopia. Findings reveal strong interest among farmers and private sector actors to engage in irrigation PPPs, provided clear policies, incentives, and institutional support systems are in place. However, challenges remain, including fragmented governance, inadequate infrastructure, limited access to credit, weak market integration, and capacity gaps among farmers and Irrigation Water User Associations (IWUAs). Key recommendations emphasize the need for clear legal frameworks, strengthened institutional capacity, incentives to attract private investment, value chain integration, and targeted capacity building for farmers and IWUAs. The study also highlights the importance of inclusive approaches that engage women and youth, and the need for effective monitoring and regulation to ensure PPPs contribute to social equity and environmental sustainability. By addressing these systemic challenges, PPPs can become a transformative tool for Ethiopia’s smallholder irrigation development, supporting food security, climate resilience, and economic growth. This report serves as a critical reference for policymakers, practitioners, and development partners working to foster sustainable and inclusive irrigation systems in Ethiopia and beyond.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    ShambaShield Playbook: A guide to creating a data intelligent climate financing tool for farmers
    (Presentation, 2025-06-30) Vyas, Shalika; Bhagat, Julita; Chilambe, Pedro
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Scaling strategy for ShambaShield: Inclusive bundled finance for smallholders
    (Report, 2025-06-26) Vyas, Shalika; Mundia, Carolyne; Chilambe, Pedro; Ewell, Hanna; Engdaw, Mastawesha; Timu, Anne; Sartas, Murat
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Impacts of fall Armyworm, groundnut rosette, and soybean rust diseases on smallholder welfare and the effectiveness of control strategies
    (Journal Article, 2025-05) Mulungu, Kelvin H.; Innocent Pangapanga-Phiri; Ngoma, Hambulo
    Smallholder farmers in Malawi and Zambia face significant challenges to their food security and welfare owing to the increasing prevalence of crop pests and diseases, such as the fall armyworm (FAW), groundnut rosette virus (GRV), and soybean rust. As climate change is projected to exacerbate these threats, understanding their impact and identifying effective control strategies is crucial. This study aims to determine the impact of these pests on crop yields, household income, and food security, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of various control strategies using survey data from 1100 farmers in Malawi and Zambia. The descriptive results show that approximately 70% of the farmers experience FAW attacks in their maize fields, approximately 28% experience rosette in their groundnuts, and 40% of the farmers report soybean rust infestations. The econometric results show that FAW, rosette, and soybean rust result in 13.5%, 27.2%, and 25.2% yield loss in maize, groundnuts, and soybean, respectively. We also find that the FAW negatively affects income and food security. While rust, rosette, and their combination had no significant effect on income and food security, their combination with FAW led to a greater negative impact than the FAW alone. Although farmers employ multiple strategies to control these pests/diseases, we find evidence, albeit not robust to different estimation strategies, that pesticides, crop rotation, and the use of improved seeds aid in reducing the negative effect of pests/diseases on crop yields. These findings contribute to the growing body of evidence that can inform policies and interventions aimed at enhancing food security and supporting resilient farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Mucuna pruriens-based feeds that improve sustainability of communal goat farming during the dry season in semi-arid savannah of southern Africa
    (Conference Paper, 2025-06) Manyawu, Godfrey J.; Rukuni, T.; Kapembeza, C.; Baleni, T.; Sisito, G.; Chakoma, I.; Hlatshwayo, A.; Musendo, B.; Dube, Sikhalazo
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A review of organic inputs to inform soil health advice for African smallholder farmers: localization matters
    (Journal Article, 2025) Weldesemayat, S. Gudeta; Stewart, Zachary P.; Odhong, Jonathan A.; Mhlanga, Blessing; Amede, Tilahun; Aynekulu, Ermias; Thierfelder, Christian; Marenya, Paswel P.; Dittmer, Kyle M.; Kamaluddin Tijjani Aliyu; Chikowo, Regis; Chiduwa, Mazvita S.; Ngoma, Hambulo; Snapp, Sieglinde S.
    African smallholder farming systems are complex, diverse and locally adapted, but guidance is lacking on how farmers can make informed choices of the type of organic inputs to suit their farm conditions. In this review we aimed to provide a synthesis of actionable information on ex situ and in situ organic resources and decision support tools to facilitate evidence-based choices by smallholders in cereal production systems in sub-Saharan Africa.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Changing the decision context to enable social learning for climate adaptation
    (Journal Article, 2025-06) Colloff, M. J.; Gorddard, R.; Munera-Roldán, C.; Locatelli, B.; Lavorel, S.; Allain, S.; Bruley, E.; Butler, J. R. A.; Dubo, T.; Enokenwa Baa, Ojongetakah; González-García, A.; Lécuyer, L.; Lo, M.; Loos, J.; Palomo, I.; Topp, E.; Vallet, A.; Walters, G.
    1. Successful adaptation often involves changes to the decision context to enable new ways of thinking and acting on climate change. Using 16 adaptation initiatives the authors were engaged with, we analysed how and why decision contexts changed to identify ways to improve adaptation as a process of collective deliberation and social learning. 2. We used the scope of the adaptation issue and governance arrangements to classify initiatives into four types and scored changes in the decision context using three frameworks: (1) the values, rules and knowledge (VRK) perspective to identify changes to adaptation decision-making; (2) the five dimensions of futures consciousness to identify the building of adaptation capabilities and (3) the social learning cycle to reveal evidence of reflexive learning. 3. Initiatives using novel governance arrangements for discrete problems (‘problem governance’) or complex, systemic issues (‘systems governance’) scored highest for influences of VRK, futures consciousness and the social learning cycle on the decision context. Initiatives using existing management for discrete problems (‘problem management’) scored moderately for change in the decision context, while those using existing management for systemic issues (‘systems management’) scored low because change was often impeded by existing rules. 4. All three frameworks influenced decision contexts in systems governance initiatives. Problem governance initiatives revealed interactions of VRK and futures consciousness but limited influence of VRK on the social learning cycle. Scope and governance arrangements differ with the adaptation issue and initiatives adapt over time: some small-scale ones became more systemic, developed novel governance arrangements and changed the decision context. 5. Our findings do not show that some adaptation initiatives are better or more transformative than others; just that their scope and appropriate governance arrangements are different. This questions the notion that successful adaptation requires building generic transformative adaptation approaches and capabilities. There is a diversity of arrangements that work. What is important is to align the approach to the adaptation problem. We suggest two directions for improving adaptation initiatives: first, by influencing how they can shift between problem and systems focus and between standard management and novel governance, and secondly, by using methods to diagnose and direct change in the decision context.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    CGIAR Research Initiative on Diversification in East and Southern Africa: Annual Technical Report 2024
    (Report, 2025-04-15) CGIAR Initiative on Diversification in East and Southern Africa
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Creating an enabling environment for agricultural innovation in emerging markets
    (Report, 2025-04-10) Ires, Idil
    Market is the structure for the development and delivery of innovations that are able to address environmental, societal, and economic challenges. The lack of enabling conditions for market development has resulted in low investment levels and economic stagnation, impacting livelihoods in Africa. Although there have been efforts to implement market-driven reforms, challenges such as inadequate policies, weak legal frameworks, transparency issues and bureaucratic inefficiencies pose significant risks for public and private investments and for their potential to reach the target beneficiaries. This situation also discourages development partners and businesses from investing in the region.Technical assistance is crucial to improve the investment climate. This paper presents a framework to help governments create a more conducive environment for agricultural market development and the private sector to navigate through the existing challenges. Traditional technical assistance practices have faced criticism for adopting a one-size-fits-all approach that overlooks local contexts. Recently, however, there has been a shift towards more context-based and adaptive assistance, which informs this framework. This framework emphasizes key elements that contribute to an enabling environment, including institutions, such as policies, regulations, and legal frameworks, as well as clear market and regulatory information that help reduce transaction costs. The framework is theoretically based on new institutional economics and political economy approaches. It focuses on assistance in three areas with three categories of delivery partners: policy support to governments, institutional capacity strengthening (especially of National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems) and (agri)business acceleration support to small- and medium-scale enterprises. Through such assistance, this framework seeks to help create an enabling environment for the delivery of innovations that offer solutions to emerging climate, societal and economic crises. These solutions, especially those developed and scaled by the private sector, are targeted toward recipients such as farmers (including women and the youth), marginalized groups, displaced communities, refugees and migrants. The framework utilizes value chain and market development as the primary delivery structures. This framework has guided several recent enabling environment assistance practices under CGIAR’s International Water Management Institute (IWMI). This paper explores these practices and positions CGIAR as a strong technical assistance partner. While this framework offers a systematic approach to analyzing the enabling environment, the technical assistance driven by this framework promotes collaboration and co-creation. It actively engages governments, national research and extension offices, farmers and other stakeholders in influencing policies and business transaction advisories that directly benefit them. Furthermore, it aims to strengthen their capacities to diagnose and overcome enabling environment challenges as they arise. By helping to create an enabling environment for the private sector—especially small- and medium-scale enterprises that innovate and scale—and derisking the investment climate, this framework seeks to strengthen agrifood market systems to foster food security and alleviate poverty.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Ukama Ustawi (UU)- Annual Project report CGIAR Initiative on Diversification in East and Southern Africa 2024 in Ethiopia
    (Report, 2025) Biratu, Gizachew Kebede; Markos, Daniel; Yemataw, Zerihun; Olika, Bikila; Bekele, Niguse; Abdulkadir, Birhan; Sida, Tesfaye Shiferaw