Scaling up agricultural interventions: Case studies of climate-smart agriculture

Abstract If climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is meaningfully to address the development challenges posed by climate change, effective approaches will be needed to scale up research findings. Here, eleven case studies are used to exemplify scaling-up strategies based on (1) value chains and private sector involvement, (2) information and communication technologies and agro-advisory services, and (3) policy engagement. We evaluated these case studies and the scaling strategies they exemplify, using a simple conceptual framework from the field of scaling up nutrition interventions. Results showed that these different strategies exhibit different characteristics; all offer considerable potential for taking CSA interventions to scale, but there still may be unavoidable trade-offs to consider when choosing one strategy over another, particularly between reaching large numbers of farmers and addressing farmers' specific contexts. The case studies highlighted several challenges: estimating the costs and benefits of different scaling activities, integrating knowledge across multiple levels, and addressing equity issues in scaling up. The case studies outlined here will continue to be monitored and evaluated, thus strengthening the evidence base around effective scaling-up strategies that can contribute to achieving food and nutrition security under climate change in the coming decades.

[1]  Laurens Klerkx,et al.  Systemic perspectives on scaling agricultural innovations. A review , 2016, Agronomy for Sustainable Development.

[2]  S. Gillespie,et al.  Scaling Up Impact on Nutrition: What Will It Take? , 2015, Advances in nutrition.

[3]  Dirk Roep,et al.  Structural Conditions for Collaboration and Learning in Innovation Networks: Using an Innovation System Performance Lens to Analyse Agricultural Knowledge Systems , 2015 .

[4]  Marketa Jonasova,et al.  Thinking systematically about scaling up : developing guidance for scaling up World Bank-supported agriculture and rural development operations , 2012 .

[5]  Johannes F. Linn,et al.  Scaling Up: A Framework and Lessons for Development Effectiveness from Literature and Practice , 2008 .

[6]  Mat Jones,et al.  Scaling up and out as a Pathway for Food System Transitions , 2016 .

[7]  A. Tarimo,et al.  The Impact of Agricultural Research on Poverty and Income Distribution: A Case Study of Selected On-farm Research Projects at Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania , 2013 .

[8]  A. Wreford,et al.  Overcoming barriers to the adoption of climate-friendly practices in agriculture , 2017 .

[9]  D. Stoian,et al.  Smallholder Value Chains as Complex Adaptive Systems: A Conceptual Framework, Socioeconomics Discussion Paper Series 36 , 2013 .

[10]  Jock R. Anderson,et al.  Aligning Global Agricultural Research Investments with National Development Activities: the CGIAR Experience , 2007 .

[11]  J. Hellin,et al.  The evolution of the MasAgro hubs: responsiveness and serendipity as drivers of agricultural innovation in a dynamic and heterogeneous context , 2016 .

[12]  R. Sessa,et al.  Climate-smart agriculture: sourcebook. , 2013 .

[13]  S. Franzel,et al.  Scaling up the benefits of agroforestry research: Lessons learned and research challenges , 2001 .

[14]  James Hansen,et al.  Scaling up index insurance for smallholder farmers: Recent evidence and insights , 2015 .

[15]  D. Glover,et al.  The Adoption Problem; or Why We Still Understand so Little about Technological Change in African Agriculture , 2016 .

[16]  J. Pretty,et al.  Sustainable intensification in African agriculture , 2011 .

[17]  Johannes F. Linn.  Scaling up in agriculture, rural development, and nutrition , 2012 .

[18]  P. Dargusch,et al.  The relevance of political ecology perspectives for smallholder Climate-Smart Agriculture: a review , 2017 .

[19]  S. Scherr,et al.  From climate-smart agriculture to climate-smart landscapes , 2012, Agriculture & Food Security.

[20]  Alison Tumilowicz,et al.  Context-specific complementary feeding recommendations developed using Optifood could improve the diets of breast-fed infants and young children from diverse livelihood groups in northern Kenya , 2016, Public Health Nutrition.

[21]  Laurens Klerkx,et al.  Towards dynamic research configurations: A framework for reflection on the contribution of research to policy and innovation processes , 2014 .

[22]  E. Simelton,et al.  Roles of social learning for the adoption of climate-smart agriculture innovations: Case study from My Loi Climate-Smart Village, Vietnam , 2017 .

[23]  Frank W. Geels,et al.  Strategic niche management and sustainable innovation journeys: theory, findings, research agenda, and policy , 2008, Technol. Anal. Strateg. Manag..

[24]  Murat Sartas,et al.  Social network analysis of multi-stakeholder platforms in agricultural research for development: Opportunities and constraints for innovation and scaling , 2017, PloS one.

[25]  S. Pee.  Special nutritious solutions to enhance complementary feeding. , 2015 .

[26]  Farmer Participatory Research in Latin America: four cases. , 2000 .

[27]  K. Tully,et al.  The scientific basis of climate-smart agriculture: A systematic review protocol , 2016 .

[28]  J. Zivin,et al.  The Adoption of Climate Smart Agriculture: The Role of Information and Insurance Under Climate Change , 2018 .

[29]  C. Leeuwis,et al.  Towards responsible scaling up and out in agricultural development : An exploration of concepts and principles , 2013 .

[30]  B. Campbell,et al.  Large-scale implementation of adaptation and mitigation actions in agriculture. CCAFS Working Paper No. 50 , 2013 .

[31]  E. Simelton,et al.  Participatory identification of climate-smart agriculture priorities , 2016 .

[32]  Philip K. Thornton,et al.  Sustainable Intensification: What Is Its Role in Climate Smart Agriculture? , 2014 .

[33]  Blane Harvey,et al.  Social learning and sustainable development , 2014 .

[34]  P. Thornton,et al.  Back to baselines: measuring change and sharing data , 2014, Agriculture & Food Security.

[35]  S. Baranyi,et al.  World development report 2011: conflict, security, and development , 2011 .

[36]  B. Shiferaw,et al.  Market imperfections, access to information and technology adoption in Uganda: challenges of overcoming multiple constraints , 2015 .

[37]  B. Campbell,et al.  The Science of Sustainable Development: Local Livelihoods and the Global Environment , 2003 .

[38]  C. Leeuwis,et al.  Value Chain Upgrading and the Inclusion of Smallholders in Markets: Reflections on Contributions of Multi-Stakeholder Processes in Dairy Development in Tanzania , 2017 .

[39]  W. Burke,et al.  Review: Taking stock of Africa’s second-generation agricultural input subsidy programs , 2018 .

[40]  Kenneth W. Abbott,et al.  Navigating the Anthropocene: Improving Earth System Governance , 2012, Science.

[41]  S. M. Howden,et al.  Transformational adaptation: agriculture and climate change , 2012, Crop and Pasture Science.

[42]  A. Böhringer.  Facilitating the wider use of agroforestry for development in southern Africa , 2001 .

[43]  L. Lipper,et al.  Climate-smart agriculture for food security , 2014 .

[44]  A. O. Fatunbi,et al.  Approaches for Setting-up Multi-Stakeholder Platforms for Agricultural Research and Development , 2012 .

[45]  Catherine Pfeifer,et al.  Targeting, out-scaling and prioritising climate-smart interventions in agricultural systems: Lessons from applying a generic framework to the livestock sector in sub-Saharan Africa , 2017, Agricultural systems.

[46]  The happy families of social learning – mapping the complex domains of learning and social change , 2014 .

[47]  L. O. Naess,et al.  ‘Triple wins’ or ‘triple faults’? Analysing the equity implications of policy discourses on climate-smart agriculture (CSA) , 2018 .

[48]  M. Agaba,et al.  Context-specific food-based approach for ensuring nutrition security in developing countries: a review , 2018, International journal of food sciences and nutrition.