AULELIANALUKOSI, TANZANIA
ScalingfoundationalandadaptedyieldgapstrategiesOneAcreFundEricSolomonson
Presentationsummary
1. Whatwedoandwherewework(~5minutes)
2. Workingtoadapttheprogramtoheterogeneousconditions(~15minutes)• Varietyrecommendations• Topdressfertilizerapplicationtiming• Improvingbioticandabioticstressfeedbackmechanisms• Addressingsoilacidity
AbundledapproachtoagriculturaldevelopmentInputs:• Improvedseed• Fertilizer• Post-harvestproducts• Non-agriculturalproducts(solarlamps,cookstoves,menstrualpads)
Financing:• Grouploan• Flexiblerepaymentcadence
Distribution:• Trucksdeliverpurchasedproductstodistributionsites• Allsitesarewithinwalkingdistance
Training:• Rowandplantspacingatplanting• Efficientfertilizeruse(microdosing,timing,placement)• Landandsoilmanagement(composting,tillage,erosionmgmt.)• Post-harvest(drying,storage)
Abundledapproachtoagriculturaldevelopment
providesservicebundle1fieldofficer to200smallholderfarmers
FINANCING
TRAINING
MARKETFACILITATION
DISTRIBUTION
reaching1,000people
OperationsatScale
Pilots
KENYA
TANZANIA
MALAWI
ETHIOPIA
UGANDA
BURUNDI
RWANDA
ZAMBIA
MYANMAR
Wherewework
Programspecifics
Country Launched Clients Crops MaizeYield MaizeProfit
Kenya 2006 210,500 Maize,bean,redonion,collards,grevillea 4.16t/ha(15LR) +$112/farmer
Rwanda 2007 127,000 Maize,bean,banana,potato,grevillea 3.32t/ha(15A) +$32/farmer
Burundi 2012 45,900 Maize,bean,potato 2.43 t/ha(15A) +$56 /farmer
Tanzania 2013 17,600 Maize 4.08t/ha(2015) +$189 /farmer
Uganda 2016 3,800 Maize TBD TBD
Malawi 2016 2,700 Maize TBD TBD
Adaptingtheprogramtolocalizedconditions-1
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Per acre kg yield difference between OAF and Control median
Agronomicresponsivenesstotheprogramisafunctionofgeospatiallyvariableagroecologicalconditions– soil,rainfall,temperature,bioticstresses,etc.
Varietytrialsandarea-specificrecommendationsRationale:• Theimprovedmaizevarietiesthatwesellhavedifferentmaturityperiods
andbiotic/abioticstressresistances,makingcertainvarietiesmoresuitableforparticularareasthanothers.
Approach:• Useacombinationofbreederinput,meteorologicaldata,farmer
preferencedata,anddistributedyielddatatodeveloparea-specificvarietyrecommendations.
• Ground-truthfindingswithfieldstaffandtrainthemonhowtoeffectivelyprovidevarietyrecommendations.
• Fieldstaffprovidearea-specificguidanceduringprogramenrollmentastowhichimprovedmaizevarietiesmaybemostsuitableforthefarmer.
VarietytrialsandrecommendationsResultstodate:• Weestimatethat~30%of1AFfarmersinKenyawouldachievean8-15%
maizeyieldincreasebychangingthevarietytheyarecurrentlygrowingtoanother(bettersuitedfortheconditions)thatweoffer.
• Groupleaderswhogrewdemonstrationplotsduringthe2015longrainswereabout2.5xaslikelytopurchasethatvarietyduringthe2016longrainsasweregroupleadersinthatsamedistrictwhodidnotgrowthevarietyasademonstrationplot.Similarly,farmerswhodidnotgrowdemonstrationplotsthemselves,butwhosegroupleadersgrewdemonstrationplotswereabout2.5xaslikelytopurchasethatvarietyduringthe2016longrainsaswerenon-demonstrationplotfarmersinthesamedistrict.
AdaptingmaizetopdresstimingRationale:• Variabletemperatureandvarietygenetics
resultininconsistenciesinhowwelldays-after-plantingandheight-basedtopdresstimingguidancelinesupwithtimingofmaizenutrientrequirements.Leafcountisamorereliableproxy.
Approach:• Shiftingfrom“kneeheight”and“shoulder
height”inKenyatoV6andV10applicationsofCAN.
• ConsideringsingleV8applicationinareaswheresplittopdressapplicationmaynotbenecessary.
AdaptingmaizetopdresstimingResultstodate:• 1AFon-farmtrials(n=200)aroundBungoma,Kenyahaveshown7-26%
maizeyieldincreases,dependingonthesite,whenapplyingtopdressatV6andV10ratherthankneeheightandshoulderheight.
• Wearecurrentlyrunningalarger-scaleevaluationinwesternKenyafocusingontrainingqualityandfarmercompliance;wedonotyethavefinalresults.
• Thistrainingfocusesonidentifyingwhichleavesshouldbecounted,howmanyleavestocount,andhowmanyplantstocount.
WeareexploringtheuseofSMSasamediumforprovidingmorelocalizedtopdresstimingguidance,specifiedtothemeteorologicalconditionsoftheareaandthevarietythatthefarmerisgrowing. Thismaycomeintheformofaprompttobegincountingleavesinthenextfewdays.
Trackingdrought,pests,anddiseaseRationale:• Theincidenceandseverityofvariousinsectsandplantdiseases,aswellas
moisturestress,canvarybetweenlocations.Inordertoeffectivelyrecommendgenetic,agronomic,orchemicalmanagementproductsandrecommendationswemustunderstandthegeographicvariabilityofthesebioticandabioticstresses.
Approach:• Crophealthhotline – wehaveadedicatednumberforfarmerstocallwhen
theyareexperiencingsomesortof“crophealth”issue.Welogtheissue,provideatentativediagnosis,andsuggestapotentialwaytoaddressit.
• Crophealthresponseteam – oncehotlinecallsaboutaparticulartopicreachedadefinedthreshold,anagentissenttothefieldtoverifytheissue.
• Crophealthapp – wearelookingintoopportunitiestousesmartphonesandimagerecognitionalgorithmstofacilitatetheprocessofstressidentification.
AddressingsoilacidityRationale:• Soilacidityinhibitsplantgrowth,buttheextenttowhichsoilacidityisan
importantfactorvariesgeographically.Agriculturallimeisaneffectivewaytoreducesoilacidityand,byextension,increaseyields.However,thevalueoflimegeographicallyvarieswithunderlyingsoilcharacteristics.
Approach:• Samplesoilsacrosstheprogramtobetterunderstandwhereacidityis
prevalent.• Runagronomictrialstobetterunderstandtheeconomicvalueofapplying
smallquantitiesoflime.• Workwithfarmerstobetterunderstandtheirperceptionoflimeandwhat
drivesadoption.• DrawuponsoildataanduseSMSasamediumforprecisionlime
recommendations.
AddressingsoilacidityResults:• Impact:1AFon-farmtrials(n=900)haveshownthatapplicationofsmall
quantitiesoflimecanincreasemaizeyieldsbyanywherefrom1%to40%inthefirstseason,dependingonthelocation.
• Adoption:InRwanda,farmersurveysrevealedthat43%offarmersinKibogora and83%offarmersinNyamasheke believedtheydidnotneedlimedespitesoilsinbothdistrictsbeingpredominatelyacidic.1AFthenrandomlyadministeredin-fieldpHtestsforfarmersinthesedistricts.Farmerswhoreceivedthetestpurchaseanadditional19kgoftravertine,increasingfrom7kgto26kg.
InKenyawearealsointheprocessofreviewingresultsfromtrialsinwhichwepromotedlimepurchaseviaindividualizedSMS,throughone-timefreegiveaways,andthroughfieldstaffandfarmereducationinitiatives.
WrapupWe’vefollowedasomewhatstep-wiseyieldgapstrategy,focusingonseedandfertilizerinitially,andincreasingourfocusonorganicresourcemanagement.
ThenextareaweareinvestinginisthisideaoflocaladaptationoftheOneAcreFundprogram.We’dliketoinvestigatetheextenttowhichthisstepcanfurthercloseyieldgapsintheareaswework.
Thisrequiresafocusonbalancingeconomicvalueandoperationalcomplexity–developingsimplifiedstrategiestoadapttoheterogeneousconditions.• Yieldgapanalyses• SMSrecommendations• Fieldstaffuseoftablets• Bypassingspatialvariability
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