Applying a systems framework to research on African farming systems
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The document discusses the application of a systems framework to African farming systems, addressing challenges such as food security, climate change adaptation, and the need for integrated research methods. It emphasizes the importance of heterogeneity in farming systems, provides insights on system dynamics and change drivers, and outlines various strategies for research and agricultural practices. Additionally, it highlights pathways of system change and variations in farm income across East Africa.
Applying a systems framework to research on African farming systems
- 1. Applying a systems framework to research on African farming systems John Lynam CGIAR Research Program on Dryland Systems Regional Inception Workshop East and Southern Africa Nairobi, 5-7 June 2012
- 2. Expanding Global Agendas and Increasing Demands on Agricultural Research Global food security under increasing land and water constraints Provision of ecosystem services and eco-efficiency of farming systems Adaptation and mitigation to climate change Agroecological intensification of smallholder agriculture and poverty
- 3. Changing Research Methods and Technology Design Production systems research Integrating ecological science Place-based research methods Research consortia Scaling up integrated into research design Flexible institutional arrangements
- 4. Design Issues in Production System CGIAR Research Programs Target Area Selection Research Site Selection -Target area characterization -Research hypotheses -Methodology for research site selection -Baseline and monitoring of system change Methods for Research on Farming Systems
- 5. Developing the Science of System Intensification Data and Analytics for: Characterization and targeting Extrapolation Baseline and monitoring Causal relationships -System change -Comparative frameworks
- 6. Design Characteristics for Analyzing African Farming Systems Heterogeneity: system boundaries and classification strata -Spatial Characterization -Within site household stratification System Change and Dynamics: drivers and intensification pathways Embeddedness: landscape, market/sub-sector, agricultural sector
- 7. Livelihood Key variables strategies INSTITUTIONAL MANAGEMENT ENDOGENOUS EXOGENOUS Livelihood Implementation Institutions and Capitals programs policy network Spatial Scale
- 8. Structure of Farm/Household System Asset base: five capitals Production activities Household objectives: -Subsistence/food security -Risk management -Income Within site variability: typologies
- 9. System Boundaries and Classification Frameworks Hierarchical Classification Land use: Cultivated land within managed natural ecosystems First order spatial classification -Agroecology: eg semi-arid, highlands -Crop-livestock interaction: eg pastoral Staple food crop: spatially contiguous? Sub-system speciation
- 10. System Speciation East African Highland Banana Systems Utilization Matoke: Uganda Beer bananas: Rwanda and Burundi Enset: Ethiopia Crop Management Commercial: southwest Uganda Soil fertility constrained: Bukoba
- 11. System Variation and System Performance System Performance -Productivity, profitability, income -Vulnerability, food security -Resource efficiency, resilience System Variation -Spatial/causal comparative frameworks -Within-site socio-economic variation
- 12. Drivers of System Change Rural population growth -Declining farm size -Increasing inequity in farm distribution -Pressure on common resources and natural capital Improvements in Market Access -Transaction costs and input/output -Staple terms of trade Changes in agroecology from climate change or biotic pandemics
- 13. Relative Prices and Marginal Returns to Nitrogen Application Marginal Return Relative Price (kg) Kenya: HYV Maize 19.9 16.0 Kenya: Recycled Maize 16.1 16.0 Uganda: HYV Maize 25.0 33.7 Uganda: Recycled Maize 25.2 33.7
- 14. Pathways of System Change Intensification of existing production patterns: sustainable and unsustainable Diversification of production Expanded farm size or herd size: high vs low population densities Increased off-farm income: expanding non-farm rural economy vs transfers Exit from agriculture
- 15. East Africa: Average Farm Income, 2004-06 Kenya Uganda Ethiopia Per Capita Income 367 154 94 % Crop Income 36 64 53 % Livestock Income 24 13 34 % Non Farm Income 42 29 12
- 16. Kenya: Crop Diversification Indices by Zone
- 17. Markets as a Driver of Farming System Evolution Stage in Farming Farmer Objective Principal Driver System Evolution Static Equilibrium Subsistence Dominates Rural Population Growth Diversification Both Income and <Shifting Farm Gate Subsistence Terms of Trade <Staple Food Productivity Specialization Income Dominates <Price Signals in Efficient Markets <Regional Competition and Comparative Advantage
Editor's Notes
- #5: CIAT and IITA were conceived of as undertaking research on farming systems of the lowland, humid tropics.FSR moved downstream as a linkage mechanism to extension, creating adaptive research.Questions about the role of the researcher led to farmer participatory research.
- #7: Sustainability split research into two very different modalities rather than integrating.
- #13: Green Revolution was the first and maybe the last example of the impacts of widely scalable technologies.FSR was a response to the lack of adoption of GR technologies in rainfed agriculture, still with a commodity focus.The sustainability agenda added NRM and expansion of the CGIAR.Climate change (system resilience) and ecosystem services has added AEI.
- #15: How to assemble these outputs into a dissemination framework.