Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SustInAfrica (Sustainable intensification of food production through resilient farming systems in West & North Africa)
Période du rapport: 2020-09-01 au 2022-02-28
The overall goal of SustInAfrica is to empower West and North African smallholder farmers and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to facilitate sustainable intensification of African farming systems, and to develop and deploy a framework on best agricultural practices and technologies. SustInAfrica’s approach will increase long-term sustainability, resilience, and economic revenues of agriculture across the targeted regions of Africa by
• assessing the real benefits and minimising the limitations, barriers, and drawbacks of agricultural practices and technologies that are tailored to characteristics of targeted agro-ecological zones (AEZs),
• optimising linkages to value chains through randomised controlled experiments in 39 communities in 13 AEZs, for demonstration purposes. This will create an enabling environment that will maximise the contribution of agriculture to addressing key societal challenges, such as food and water security, climate change adaptation and mitigation, ecosystem services delivery, biodiversity preservation and human health.
• assessing the real benefits and minimising the limitations, barriers, and drawbacks of agricultural practices and technologies that are tailored to characteristics of targeted agro-ecological zones (AEZs),
• optimising linkages to value chains through randomised controlled experiments in 39 communities in 13 AEZs, for demonstration purposes. This will create an enabling environment that will maximise the contribution of agriculture to addressing key societal challenges, such as food and water security, climate change adaptation and mitigation, ecosystem services delivery, biodiversity preservation and human health.
The central aim of SustInAfrica’s is to help to develop and implement systems of agricultural in North and West Africa that are both intensive and sustainable. Central to this aim are experimental field trials to improve agricultural production in a sustainable manner. Key the success of these trials is the involvement of local farmers and stakeholders, so that new techniques and technologies can gain traction and acceptance within local communities. SustInAfrica’s field trial campaign is now either in operation or in the process of being implemented in all the key areas. In conjunction with fields trials 'smart farming technologies for plant production' are being tested and combined into a smart monitoring system to aid smallholder farmers. Key to this is the development of and AI-based system for pest-insect detection (InsectaMon), and a remote sensing platform for crops and the adjacent green infrastructure. The technical equipment required for these purposes has been selected and procured and is now being tested in North and West Africa.
A second strand of SustInAfrica’s research program is to gain a deep understanding of the current state of selected farming systems. This involves data collected from various sources, including detailed and carefully constructed surveys of members of the communities where SustInAfrica is operating, with special attention paid to age and gender diversity. These surveys have now been designed and training given to the local members of the SustInAfrica team who will implement and oversee these surveys. Extensive searches and reviews of exiting literature sources have also been undertaken. The innovative Mergdata data platform designed by key SustInAfrica partner Farmeline in Ghana will be used to store and share important results with local people, as well as being the basis for SustInAfrica ambitious training and education program, which is now being designed and implemented.
A second strand of SustInAfrica’s research program is to gain a deep understanding of the current state of selected farming systems. This involves data collected from various sources, including detailed and carefully constructed surveys of members of the communities where SustInAfrica is operating, with special attention paid to age and gender diversity. These surveys have now been designed and training given to the local members of the SustInAfrica team who will implement and oversee these surveys. Extensive searches and reviews of exiting literature sources have also been undertaken. The innovative Mergdata data platform designed by key SustInAfrica partner Farmeline in Ghana will be used to store and share important results with local people, as well as being the basis for SustInAfrica ambitious training and education program, which is now being designed and implemented.
The expected outcomes of SustInAfrica are to:
• intensify and diversify nutritious food production in Ghana, Burkina Faso, Niger, Egypt, and Tunisia
• increase productivity on partially degraded land and reintroduce severely degraded land
• increase water and nutrient retention and storage of soil organic carbon in soils
• enhance delivery of targeted ecosystem services.
The impacts of SustInAfrica’s research, innovation, and technological outputs will reach various stakeholders and end-users (including smallholder farmers) across West and North Africa and across the European research and innovation community, contributing significantly towards:
• strengthening and boosting Africa-EU joint research at the local level
• demonstrating, implementing sustainable intensification practices across the r egions
• encouraging the use of smart and integrated pest management for plant protection
• delivery of ecosystem services
• improving water use efficiency
• delivery of ecologically produced food products to consumers
• development of sustainable business models.
SustInAfrica will collect, review, and test the agricultural practices and tools appropriate to improve water and nutrient and carbon retention in soils. Promising carbon management technologies for sustainable soil management will be evaluated and evaluated for their overall potential to increase soil organic enhance the soil capacity to retain water and nutrients. The aims are to significantly increased water and nutrient use efficiency and reduced net removal of carbon from arable land.
SustInAfrica will address the most common AEZs in West and North Africa (forest-savanna, grass/bush-savanna, and desert) and the most common farming systems of these AEZs. SustInAfrica will train and educate farmers and smallholder farmers, private and public extension services and young researchers. The aim is to develop and implement methods and technologies that promote resilient and sustainable agro-businesses that empower farmers, women and youth, in practices that offer easily accessible and simple methods and solutions for different farming systems. The sustainable intensification of agricultural production at the farm level is a crucial aim of SustInAfrica. By implementing and testing various smart, modern, and traditional agricultural practices and technologies, lasting impacts will be generated. Therefore, SustInAfrica addresses:
• Interrelation of farming activities with ecosystem services
• Training and education of stakeholders, end-users, youth, and students
• Implementing sustainable and profitable agro-business models to ensure sustainability, resilience, and a legacy of lasting empowerment for farmers, women, and young people.
• intensify and diversify nutritious food production in Ghana, Burkina Faso, Niger, Egypt, and Tunisia
• increase productivity on partially degraded land and reintroduce severely degraded land
• increase water and nutrient retention and storage of soil organic carbon in soils
• enhance delivery of targeted ecosystem services.
The impacts of SustInAfrica’s research, innovation, and technological outputs will reach various stakeholders and end-users (including smallholder farmers) across West and North Africa and across the European research and innovation community, contributing significantly towards:
• strengthening and boosting Africa-EU joint research at the local level
• demonstrating, implementing sustainable intensification practices across the r egions
• encouraging the use of smart and integrated pest management for plant protection
• delivery of ecosystem services
• improving water use efficiency
• delivery of ecologically produced food products to consumers
• development of sustainable business models.
SustInAfrica will collect, review, and test the agricultural practices and tools appropriate to improve water and nutrient and carbon retention in soils. Promising carbon management technologies for sustainable soil management will be evaluated and evaluated for their overall potential to increase soil organic enhance the soil capacity to retain water and nutrients. The aims are to significantly increased water and nutrient use efficiency and reduced net removal of carbon from arable land.
SustInAfrica will address the most common AEZs in West and North Africa (forest-savanna, grass/bush-savanna, and desert) and the most common farming systems of these AEZs. SustInAfrica will train and educate farmers and smallholder farmers, private and public extension services and young researchers. The aim is to develop and implement methods and technologies that promote resilient and sustainable agro-businesses that empower farmers, women and youth, in practices that offer easily accessible and simple methods and solutions for different farming systems. The sustainable intensification of agricultural production at the farm level is a crucial aim of SustInAfrica. By implementing and testing various smart, modern, and traditional agricultural practices and technologies, lasting impacts will be generated. Therefore, SustInAfrica addresses:
• Interrelation of farming activities with ecosystem services
• Training and education of stakeholders, end-users, youth, and students
• Implementing sustainable and profitable agro-business models to ensure sustainability, resilience, and a legacy of lasting empowerment for farmers, women, and young people.