‘Realizing the underexploited potential of multi-purpose legumes towards improved

livelihoods and a better environment in crop-livestock systems in East & Central Africa’

LegumeCHOICE

Universite Catholique de Bukavu (UCB), DR Congo

Partnership

Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Kenya

International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Kenya [lead]

Universitat Hohenheim (UniHoh), Germany

World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF), Kenya

International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Ethiopia

Oromia Agricultural Research Institute (OARI), Ethiopia

Humidtropics

Legumes – ‘knowns’Rationale

1. Most African farming systems contain a legume component but the area under different types of legumes is very limited in space or time.

2. Legumes have great potential to contribute to rural livelihoods and natural resource status : grains for home consumption or sale, fodder for livestock feed, protein for health and nutrition, available soil nutrients, fuel wood.

3. These potential benefits are expressed in different ways for different legume classes

Legume types

Legumes – ‘knowns’

4. Smallholder farming communities and systems are very heterogeneous, mainly as a result of difference in resource endowments for individual households (livestock ownership, land size, access to cash).

5. The above factors influence the presence of specific niches for specific classes of legumes in time and space (Ojiem et al, 2006) and the effects those legumes will have on farmer livelihoods and natural resources.

6. Legume productivity itself is also very much affected by G x E x M interactions.

Legumes – ‘knowns’

Legumes – ‘unknowns’1. Can we understand the disconnection between the potential of legumes and their actual uptake by smallholder farmers?

2. Sub-questions: (i) do we have a clear enough understanding of the production

objectives of smallholder farmers (e.g., subsistence vs commercial)?

(ii) do we understand the nature of the socio-ecological niches for specific legume classes, including the enabling conditions for their uptake (e.g., presence of markets)?

(iii), do we know which practices (e.g., inoculant use) will optimize legume productivity thereby maximizing the use efficiencies of agro-inputs?

Goal

To improve food and nutrition security, reduce poverty, and enhance the production environment of smallholder farmers and rural populations, in particular women, through facilitation of the smart integration and use of multi-purpose legumes, providing food, protein, feed, fuel, and/or organic matter, in crop-livestock systems.

Goal

Purpose

To provide knowledge and tools to farmers and stakeholders interacting with farmers to make rational decisions for enhancing short and long-term contributions of multi-purpose legumes to farmer livelihoods including aspects of legume production, input supply systems, and markets.

[By the end of the project, at least 4,500 smallholder farmers within the target areas are actively engaged in legume intensification and system diversification with legumes, based on specific needs and niches identified in cooperation with R4D platform partners]

DR Congo

KenyaUganda

Rwanda

Burundi

Ethiopia

Geographical focus The project operates within existing Action Sites (1 per country), Field Sites (2 per Action Site), Implementation sites (2 per field site). Within each site at least 500 households will be actively engaged, totaling 4,500 farmer households.

Outputs(i) Farming system diagnosis and related entry points for multi-purpose legumes in farming systems and synthesis of lessons learnt across all Action Sites [ICRAF]

(ii) A suite of proven, farmer- and system-specific legume-based options for system intensification [IITA/UniHoh/NARS]

(iii) LegumeCHOICE – a decision support framework for enhancing the contributions of legumes to farmer livelihoods [ILRI]

(iv) Effective partnerships within Humidtropics R4D platforms facilitate and enabling environment for the dissemination of multi-purpose legumes [IITA/Humidtropics]

Approach

ActivitiesOutput 1: Farming system diagnosis and related entry points for multi-purpose legumes in farming systems and synthesis of lessons learnt across all Action Sites

Activity 1.1: Farm level diagnosis of current functions (e.g., grain, livestock feed, soil fertility, erosion control, fuel, nutrition) of legumes in farming systems, constraints to enhance these functions, and vision of farmers for improving legume production and productivity, as affected by gender and farmer typology.

Activity 1.2: Analysis of the overall production environment and diagnosis of the constraints & opportunities for legume intensification

Activity 1.3: Identification of gender- and typology-specific entry points for novel legume options to increase their farm-level functionality, in response to farmer’s visions and identified constraints

Activity 1.4: Synthesis of lessons learnt across Action Sites in relation to intensification of legume production within smallholder farms

ActivitiesOutput 2: A suite of proven, farmer- and system-specific legume-based options for system intensification

Activity 2.1: Participatory action research to quantify how to optimize the productivity of the identified legume options with maximal short-term benefits to farming systems and livelihoods

Activity 2.2: Ex-ante assessment of the longer-term sustainability dimensions of interventions studied in Activity 2.1.Activity 2.3: Compilation of best-fit legume interventions and the required conditions to make these effective along the G x E x M framework

Activity 2.4: Facilitation of degree-related capacity building activities

ActivitiesOutput 3: LegumeCHOICE – a decision support framework for enhancing the contributions of legumes to farmer livelihoods

Activity 3.1: Co-development of a prototype decision support framework with partners and beneficiaries for identifying legume entry points and best management practices, based on specific constraints and production objectives, towards anticipated expected benefits

Activity 3.2: Evaluation of trade-offs between legume integration scenarios, short and longer term benefits, and conflicting stakeholder interests, for integration in the decision support framework.

Activity 3.3: Development of LegumeCHOICE – Version 1, an easy-to-use decision support framework, consisting of ICT-based and standard modules, for informing decision-making on enhancing the contribution of legumes to smallholder farming systems

Activity 3.4: Training of research and development partners in the use of LegumeCHOICE, including aspects of entry point identification and deployment and trade-off analysis.

ActivitiesOutput 4: Effective partnerships within Humidtropics R4D platforms facilitate and enabling environment for the dissemination of multi-purpose legumes

Activity 4.1: Development of strategic partnerships and action plans within specific Humidtropics R4D platforms for facilitating an enabling environment for legume intensification, based on constraints identified

Activity 4.2: Piloting of institutional interventions aiming at creating an enabling environment for legume intensification through site- and R4D platform-specific models

Activity 4.3: Organization of specific training events at the R4D platform level based on identified capacity gaps in intensifying legumes in systems and creating an enabling environment to facilitate this

Activity 4.4: Implementation of a M&E framework following the of Research-in-Development concept, within the R4D platforms accross all above activities

Activities

Where are we?

ActivitiesOutput 1: Farming system diagnosis and related entry points for multi-purpose legumes in farming systems and synthesis of lessons learnt across all Action Sites

Activity 1.1: Farm level diagnosis of current functions (e.g., grain, livestock feed, soil fertility, erosion control, fuel, nutrition) of legumes in farming systems, constraints to enhance these functions, and vision of farmers for improving legume production and productivity, as affected by gender and farmer typology.

Activity 1.2: Analysis of the overall production environment and diagnosis of the constraints & opportunities for legume intensification

Activity 1.3: Identification of gender- and typology-specific entry points for novel legume options to increase their farm-level functionality, in response to farmer’s visions and identified constraints

Activity 1.4: Synthesis of lessons learnt across Action Sites in relation to intensification of legume production within smallholder farms

ActivitiesOutput 2: A suite of proven, farmer- and system-specific legume-based options for system intensification

Activity 2.1: Participatory action research to quantify how to optimize the productivity of the identified legume options with maximal short-term benefits to farming systems and livelihoods

Activity 2.2: Ex-ante assessment of the longer-term sustainability dimensions of interventions studied in Activity 2.1.Activity 2.3: Compilation of best-fit legume interventions and the required conditions to make these effective along the G x E x M framework

Activity 2.4: Facilitation of degree-related capacity building activities

ActivitiesOutput 3: LegumeCHOICE – a decision support framework for enhancing the contributions of legumes to farmer livelihoods

Activity 3.1: Co-development of a prototype decision support framework with partners and beneficiaries for identifying legume entry points and best management practices, based on specific constraints and production objectives, towards anticipated expected benefits

Activity 3.2: Evaluation of trade-offs between legume integration scenarios, short and longer term benefits, and conflicting stakeholder interests, for integration in the decision support framework.

Activity 3.3: Development of LegumeCHOICE – Version 1, an easy-to-use decision support framework, consisting of ICT-based and standard modules, for informing decision-making on enhancing the contribution of legumes to smallholder farming systems

Activity 3.4: Training of research and development partners in the use of LegumeCHOICE, including aspects of entry point identification and deployment and trade-off analysis.

ActivitiesOutput 4: Effective partnerships within Humidtropics R4D platforms facilitate and enabling environment for the dissemination of multi-purpose legumes

Activity 4.1: Development of strategic partnerships and action plans within specific Humidtropics R4D platforms for facilitating an enabling environment for legume intensification, based on constraints identified

Activity 4.2: Piloting of institutional interventions aiming at creating an enabling environment for legume intensification through site- and R4D platform-specific models

Activity 4.3: Organization of specific training events at the R4D platform level based on identified capacity gaps in intensifying legumes in systems and creating an enabling environment to facilitate this

Activity 4.4: Implementation of a M&E framework following the of Research-in-Development concept, within the R4D platforms accross all above activities