Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small-Scale Irrigation

Alan DuncanEthiopia Partner meeting, Mar 27 2015

From Plan to Action

Field Studies and Ex Ante Analysis

Major Elements Small Scale Irrigation Coop Agreement

• Identifying promising, context appropriate, small-scale irrigation interventions, management and practices for poverty reduction and improved nutrition outcomes

• Evaluating production, environmental, economic, nutritional, and gender impacts, trade-offs, and synergies of small scale irrigation technologies and practices

• Identifying key constraints and opportunities to improve access to small scale irrigation technologies and practices

• Capacity Development and Stakeholder Engagement

Methods

• Assess recent innovations in SSI• Stakeholder engagement (iterative)• Detailed experimental design• Ex ante assessment of consequences• Environmental assessment• Field studies• Ex post assessment and scaling out• Constraints analysis and mitigation• Training

Integrated Decision Support System

Related Farm Household Surveys

• Baseline and post field study assessment• Household level surveys in communities

involved in field studies• Assess: – gender issues – human nutrition – economic consequences

Early Results

• Stakeholder workshops in all countries• Definitive plans for innovations and locations

in Ethiopia• Plans in progress for Tanzania and Ghana• Potential delay in Ghana – Ebola• Field research planned in all countries in year

two• Training workshops planned in all countries in

year two

Cross Cutting Issues

• Factors affecting/enhancing gender in adoption and use of interventions

• Impact on/enhancing human nutrition at household levels

• Impact on/ameliorating effects of SSI on water safety at farm and stream levels

• Environmental assessment of SSI at farm and watershed levels

ILRI/ARARI/SARI role

• To develop and test livestock feed interventions supported by small-scale irrigation technologies for livelihood benefits– Identify dedicated livestock interventions as well as look at

synergies with crop interventions – Look for feed options emerging from other system changes– Contribute to ex ante impact assessment of feed and

alternative crops using the IDSS suite of models through user groups developed in each project country

– Work with national partners to do livestock feed system assessment (FEAST) and technology targeting (Techfit)

– Work with national partners to train farmers on the technical aspects of forage production

Activity flow logic• Identify irrigated forage

options• Devise a framework for

assessing where they might work

• Apply the framework to a range of candidate sites to focus down on high potential sites

• Conduct feed assessments and further targeting in shortlisted sites using existing ILRI tools and IDSS

• Implement field interventions• Look at the economics of

potential interventions• Take preliminary thinking to

communities for validation/adjustment

Component 1 – Identification of interventions

Component 2 – Evaluating impacts, trade-offs…

Component 3 – Constraints

Component 1 – identify interventionsObjective 2 (Component 1). Identify promising, context appropriate small scale irrigation interventions, management, and practices for poverty reduction and Improved nutrition outcomes.

Activity 2.1. Desk review and expert consultation on existing efforts to combine small scale irrigation with intensive forage production in Ethiopia leading to preliminary list of intervention options (in collaboration with IWMI)

Activity 2.2. Based on desk review, establish pilot livestock feed interventions in Africa RISING sitesActivity 2.2. Develop targeting framework for assessing likelihood of success of intensive irrigated forage production in specific locations: availability of land, labour, irrigation source, market for livestock products etcActivity 2.3. Use targeting framework to select pilot sites for preliminary assessment of intervention options from long list of sites including Africa RISING sites

Component 2 – evaluate impactsObjective 3 (Component 2). Evaluating impacts, trade-offs, and synergies of small-scale Irrigation technologies and practices.

Activity 3.1. Conduct FEAST assessments in pilot sites to characterize key livestock feed issues in pilot sites

Activity 3.2. Use Techfit methodology to further focus on sites where irrigated forages are likely to be adoptedActivity 3.3. Conduct economic analysis of proposed intervention options in different locations including assessing competitiveness with other land and labour use options (using IDSS tools as appropriate).

Component 3 – assess constraintsObjective 4 (Component 3). Identifying key constraints and opportunities to improve access to small-scale irrigation technologies.

Activity 4.1. Conduct community dialogues to assess local perceptions on proposed forage interventions coupled with SSI.

Activity 4.2. Analyse community dialogues to identify issues to be addressed before proposed interventions would be successfully adopted

5 year logic

Ethiopia

Tanzania

Ghana

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Develop targeting

approaches

Test pilot interventions

Develop scaling

strategy

Apply targeting

approaches

Test pilot interventions

Develop scaling

strategy

Apply targeting

approaches

Test pilot interventions

Develop scaling

strategy

Synthesis

Synth-esis

Synth-esis

Cro

ss-c

ount

ry sy

nthe

sis

Questions for group work

• What are some previous successes and failures around irrigated forages in Ghana – location, partners, brief description of activities?

• What are the key opportunities for improving livestock production through small scale irrigation?

• What are some the of the barriers?