Integrated Systems Research for Sustainable

Intensification in Smallholder Agriculture

humidtropics.cgiar.org/international-conference-integrated-systems

Objectives

• Demonstrate experience and evidence that

systems approaches are effective and

contribute to improved livelihoods and NRM

• Share methods, tools and approaches

• Identify opportunities for effective cross-

system learning

• New and strengthened partnerships

• Special issue – peer reviewed

Conference Open Access

1. Vimeo:

• Highlights of the Opening Session

• Opening session videos & keynotes videos

• Why is systems research important for farmers?

Scientists answer this question in a vox pop video

2. Slideshare:

• Powerpoint presentations

• Posters

3. Twitter: Conference in 1000 tweets on Storify

4. Flickr: Conference photo album

humidtropics.cgiar.org/international-conference-integrated-systems

Conference News and Blogs Increasing Food Production Through Systemic

Farming, 25-minute documentary: Part 1, Part 2.

Eco-efficient Crop and Livestock Production for

Nicaraguan Farmers

The ‘unlikely hero’ that transforms lands and

livelihoods in Uganda

Transforming IITA to Nourish Africa

Integrating agricultural biodiversity into farming

systems is essential

Foresight modelling to guide sustainable

intensification of smallholder systems

Marketing Analysis Confirms the Intertwined Nature of

Agricultural Production, Marketing and Natural

Resources Management Systems in Uganda

Participation

• 120 participants from over 30 nations

• 7 keynotes, 55 oral and 50 poster presentations:

Book of Abstracts

• Biophysical and social scientists

• CGIAR and non-CGIAR participants

• Ph.D. students, senior scientists and professors

Core Questions

• How to move systems concepts into

practice?

• How do we move to scale and impact with

systems research and development?

• What is the value added?

• Why is systems research needed to

achieve development impact?

Conference…

…and/or Workshop?

Conference Themes

1. Conceptual underpinnings of

systems research

2. Integrated systems improvement

and sustainable intensification in

practice

3. Partnerships and institutional

arrangements for innovation,

scaling and impact

4. Foresight in systems research

for development impact

5. Future directions: how to take

systems research forward?

Conference Results

Conceptual Underpinnings

Key Points

• Farming systems - 70s and 80s. What has

changed?

• Livelihoods orientation - beyond plot and farm – On-farm / off-farm interactions

– Integration / links with the broader agriculture R&D

– Value chain for priority commodities

– Sustainable Intensification - NRM

• Scaling up and down - impact at scale

• Systematic vs. systemic dimensions

• Multi-stakeholder engagement

Key Points

• Farmer empowerment as a guiding principle

• Fostering the capacity to innovate

• Alignment with policy, education, and other

systems for impact

• Scientists embedded in development processes -

co-learning

• Social and gender as leverage points for change

• Foresight: to deal with uncertainty and

unpredictability towards resilience

Conceptual Underpinnings

Observations / Lessons Learnt

• Significant progress made in farming systems

research in terms of understanding and

interventions

• Diversity of disciplines essential towards

operationalizing systems research to effectively

tackle complex system issues

• Engage with diverse stakeholder groups for

problem formulation and scaling

• Common understanding on the principles and

underlying logic needed

Conceptual Underpinnings

Key Points

• Diverse pathways exists towards improving

livelihoods - intensification, diversification,

specialization, exit

• Markets are key in driving multi-stakeholder

processes; private sector engagement is essential

• System analysis at multiple scales needed for

trade-off analysis with direct engagement of

stakeholders

• Nutrition and gender are leverage points for

system improvement - will increase the density of

trade-offs

Systems Improvements &

Sustainable Intensification

Systems Improvements &

Sustainable Intensification

Observations / Lessons Learnt

• Excitement about results of concrete systems

research

• Substantial progress with understanding systems

and identifying priority interventions

• Activities on the ground provides a basis for

advancing system research and connecting with

actors across scales for co-learning and scaling

• Emphasis on bridging the understanding of

systems with the implementation of systems

interventions

Partnerships for Innovation,

Scaling and Impact

Key Points

• Systems research – beyond G x E towards

Options x Context => scaling for impact

• Embracing heterogeneity at scale: biophysical,

social, economic, institutional…

• R4D and innovation platforms as integrators for

multi-stakeholder engagement in R4D

– Strengthen gender and equity within platforms

– Facilitation is key to success

• Analysis of multi-stakeholder processes critical

for effectiveness towards outcomes/impact

Partnerships for Innovation,

Scaling and Impact

Observations / Lessons Learnt

• Focus on productivity and NRM while

institutional innovations might be the leverage

point

• Knowledge and methods for system research

are in place

• Strategy for bringing results to scale - explore

opportunities for aligning with development

initiatives for impact

Value Proposition

• Develops and tests, with farming households and

development partners, feasible combinations of

technical, market, governance and policy options

capable of improving agricultural livelihood systems.

• Improves the understanding of place-based social,

financial, technical and environmental contexts

providing a knowledge resource to enhance the

development and targeting of systems interventions with

an aim to scaling out to similar extrapolation domains.

• Focus on total farm productivity including closing yield

gaps of systems components with greatest relevance to

smallholder farmers.

Value Proposition

… for Systems Research I

• Strengthens the science-policy interface that has

prevented governments and international bodies from

delivering change to rural people.

• Identifies diversified opportunities for the agricultural

sector that can reverse the lack of investment in rural

areas.

• Applies new approaches on how to cope with wicked

problems, productivity trade-offs and synergies, climate

change, land degradation, gender inequities, and youth

unemployment at the expected scale of impact; that is,

with millions of farmers across millions of hectares.

Value Proposition

… for Systems Research

II

• Requires further development of M&E systems with

indicators that that can show whether and how

systems approaches are working, and how fast.

• Will directly improve the effectiveness of development

spending at local scales, at the same time producing

generalizable knowledge, and forging new

partnerships to improve livelihood systems.

• Foresight and research on synergies and trade-offs

are core components that help prioritize interventions

and predict possible early successes.

Value Proposition

… for Systems Research

III

Looking Forward

• Capacity strengthening

• Refine key indicators

– Total Factor Productivity

– Capacity to innovate

– Sustainable intensification

– Resilience in farming systems

• More science-based evidence (long term)

• Methodology guide and tool box

• Contribute to institutional innovation options

• Engage with regional organizations and

development initiatives for impact at scale

Some Priority Actions…

… Looking forward

Looking Forward …

….. In relation to 2nd Cycle Portfolio

Role of Systems Research

1. Systems research is the bedrock within which

changes in productivity, livelihoods and NRM

can and should take place, in line with the goals

and aspirations of the SRF

2. Systems research must function across

programs throughout the entire CGIAR chain

3. Requires mindset change, competency

enhancement, and strengthened strategic

partnerships

CRP

X

CRP

C

Systems CRPs

Communities

of Practice

Linking systems

research

components

Regional

integration

Aggregation of

CRPs within a

zone/country

Systems Research Integration

Status Quo Clustering with Efficiencies

1 Systems CRP

2 Systems CRPs

Systems CRPs Aggregation Options

1 Systems CRP

Mixed Cluster Aggregation Possibilities

• Commodities: Integration of commodity value chains in

system focal areas

• Policy Institutions and Markets: Systems work needs

to look at institutions and governance and therefore

should relate with PIM in this respect.

• Climate Smart Agriculture: Integration of climate smart

elements into systems research, to provide basis for

foresight considerations.

Mixed Cluster Aggregation possibilities

• Nutrition / Nutrition Sensitive Landscapes: Dietary

diversification element cuts across all systems CRPs

and A4NH.

• Dryland Systems and Commodites: DS + Dryland

Cereals and Grain Legumes: Specific integration with

dryland systems CRP.

• Roots, Tubers and Bananas: RTB has adopted

Humidtropics Action Sites. More collaboration and

integration could be explored.

Conclusion

• General satisfaction with Conference

• Lots of questions remain that need

answers

• 3 systems-CRPs agreed to work together

towards providing further answers and

development outcomes ….

• …… and to support systems research in

the context of the 2nd cycle CRPs

Thank You!