1. Africa RISING in the Ethiopian Highlands Peter Thorne International Livestock Research Institute Science Advisory Group – London 17 July, 2014

2. Timeline 2011 (October) – The three Africa RISING projects are commissioned by USAID. 2012 (February) – Inception meeting of potential CGIAR and national partners held in Addis Ababa. 2012 (Meher season) – six “quick win” projects implemented. In the meantime there is vigorous discussion of the contents of our overarching Research Framework (completed, Autumn 2012). Research Framework 2012 (November until October 2013) – Implementation of diagnostic studies (output 1 in the Research Framework). 2013 (Meher season) – On-farm demonstrations of promising technologies (wheat, potato, faba bean, small scale irrigation). 2014 (February – April) – Establishment of worede and kebele level innovation platforms and farmer research cluster groups. 2014 (Meher season) – large scale implementation of on-farm action research based on revolving work plan.

3. Diagnostic Studies Participatory Community Analysis. Sustainable Livelihoods Asset Evaluation. Formalisation of indigenous agro-ecological knowledge. Characterisation of and identification of problems and opportunities in key value chains. Quantitative data collections for ex ante impact assessment (modeling studies). Some more focused diagnostics, e.g. FEAST for evaluation year-round feed and fodder utilisation.

4. Diagnostic studies: some key findings Cropping – trends differ amongst crops and regions. Wheat, lentils and some vegetables increasing with market demand. Barley, enset and potatoes decreasing due to low prices and disease problems. Livestock – fodder and feed supply are critical constraints to maintaining livestock numbers. Existing community engagement – generally high levels of GO, NGO and CBO activity but can be patchy and uncoordinated. Better engagement models (via IPs?) – AR technical innovation supported by capacity development (production, utilization, processing, leadership, marketing, communication skills). Better engagement models – need to recognize household diversity and capitalize on opportunities for farmer – to – farmer knowledge exchange Other shortages – appropriate, adaptable varieties, agro-chemicals, veterinary products, available water.

5. Revolving work plan – key themes 1.Feed and forage development. 2.Field crop varietal selection and management. 3.Integration of high value products into mixed farming systems. 4.Improved land and water management for sustainability. 5.Improving the efficiency of mixed farming systems through more effective crop-livestock integration. 6.Cross-cutting problems and opportunities. 7.Knowledge management, exchange and capacity development. Formulated during the October 2013 planning meeting by AR core and regional partners

6. Work plan example (theme 1)

7. Research protocols Anchored to research plan themes and activities. o Justification o Research methods o Deliverables (timebound) o Research outcomes Jointly formulated amongst AR core partners. Agreed at AR project level. Protocol budgets consolidated into core partner budgets / contracts. Review of protocols with AR regional partners. Kebele level research cluster meetings for farmer engagement. Validation of farmers selection. Research implementation. Monitoring and knowledge exchange (protocol teams, IPs and farmers research Cluster Groups).

8. ILRI’s Research partners in Ethiopia  Academic institutions:  Wachemo, Mekelle, Madawolabu, Debre Berhan and Hawassa universities; Maichew Agricultural College  Regional research organizations:  Amhara Regional Agricultrural Research Institute, Southern Agricultural Research Institute, Tigray Agricultural Research Institute, Oromia Agricultural Research Institute  Federal research organizations:  Ethiopian Institute for Agricultural Research, Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute  Offices of Agriculture:  Endamekoni (Tigray), Basona Worena (Amhara), Lemo (SNNRP) and Sinana (Oromia)  Agricultural Transformation Agency

9. Africa Research in Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation africa-rising.net The presentation has a Creative Commons licence. You are free to re-use or distribute this work, provided credit is given to ILRI. Thank You