Feed the Future: Facilitating development

and access to value chains for

smallholder farmers

Rob Bertram

USAID Bureau for Food Security

September 24, 2012

ICRISAT 40th Anniversary Science Symposium

• Country-led

• Focus on Women and Gender

• Integrate Nutrition and Agriculture

• Support Sustainable Intensification

• Increase Economic Resilience

• Strengthen Capacity of Local Institutions

• M&E to support real-time learning

• Impact analysis to build a strong evidence base

New Ways of Doing Business under Feed the Future Feed the Future

1. Help farmers produce more

2. Help farmers get more food to market

3. Support Research & Development to improve smallholder agriculture in a changing climate

4. Strengthen Regional Trade

5. Create a better Policy Environment

6. Improve Access to Nutritious Food and Nutrition Services

What Does Feed the Future Do? Feed the Future

www.feedthefuture.gov

www.feedthefuture.gov

Source: Stan Wood et al. (IFPRI) 2009.

Sub-national poverty ca. 2005

(<$1.25/day)

Number

Prevalence

Defining FTF Research Priorities

Using poverty & nutrition lens: Identify

key production systems where hunger

and poverty are significant…

D Child Under-nutrition

Prevalence of underweight in

children under-5, 2003-08

Prevalence of stunting in

children under-5, 2003-08

Source: UNICEF, 2009

• Advancing the productivity frontier

• Transforming key production systems

• Improving nutrition and food safety

Three research themes:

• Indo-gangetic plains in South Asia

• Sudano-sahelien systems in West Africa

• Maize-mixed systems in East and Southern Africa

• Ethiopian highlands

Anchored by key geographies:

Overarching Goal Emerged: Sustainable Intensification

FTF Research Strategy

Longer-term Research - Major Themes

1. Heat and drought tolerant, climate adapted cereals

2. Advanced technology solutions for animal and plant diseases

3. Legume productivity for improved nutrition and incomes

Application of Advanced Research for Productivity and Resilience

- Policy, social science and nutrition research (e.g. utilization of food)

- Increased availability and access to high quality foods for improved diets (animal sourced food, horticulture, aflatoxin control)

South Asia Indo-Gangetic Plains

Bangladesh

Maize-mixed East & Southern

Africa

Tanzania

Sudano-Sahelian West

Africa

Ghana

Ethiopian Highlands

Ethiopia

Lon

ger-Term

Inve

stme

nts N

ear-Te

rm Im

pact

Sustainable Intensification of Key Production Systems Complement Mission investments in select value chains

Integrate component technologies, policies, social sciences, nutrition

Food Security Research Priorities

Adapted from: A Strategic Framework for African Agricultural Input Supply System Development, IFAD

Smallholder is consumer in agriculture input

value chain or input supply sub-system

Smallholder is

producer in

agribusiness

system

An agriculture input value chain

Smallholder is producer in agriculture

commodity value chain.

An agriculture commodity value chain

The FTF small holder

farmer can be viewed as a

link between chains

Farm-Centered Strategy

Value Chain Anchor link concept

- Ethiopia

Small holder

farming

system –

integrates

multiple

value chains

Wheat, malt

barley, chick

peas, forage,

vegetables

ANCHOR LINK

Wheat value chain – post producer links - markets,

processing, and other links in the chain.

Chick pea value chain – post producer links -

markets, processing, other links in the chain.

Vegetable value chain – post producer links -

markets, processing, other links in the chain.

Forage value chain – post producer links -

markets, processing, other links in the chain.

Input supply system

link for multiple

value chains:

Must provide for all

the small holders

input needs across

the multiple value

chains.

AfricaRISING – applied

research recommendations for

optimized profit and

sustainability of the small

holder integrated system with

advisory services – an input of

knowledge and skills

Livestock value chain – post producer links -

markets, processing, other links in the chain.

Small holder system is not treated as a link in each of the multiple separate value

chains but as one big link that integrates the multiple and diversified value chains.

Malt barley value chain – post producer links -

markets, processing, other links in the chain.

Provide pathways out of hunger and poverty for small holder families,

particularly for women and children, through sustainably intensified

farming systems that sufficiently improve food, nutrition, and income

security and conserve or enhance the natural resource base.

• Identify demand-driven sustainable intensification options that are

socially acceptable, economically feasible, and environmentally sound

• Combine and adapt these options to address constraints and exploit

opportunities.

• Evaluate their effectiveness at multiple scales.

• Catalyze ongoing sustainable farm intensification.

Program Purpose and Objectives

Africa RISING

Maize

Horticulture

Livestock

Legumes

Ma

rketi

ng

Milli

ng

/ p

ac

ka

gin

g

Po

st-

harv

es

t sto

rag

e

Production

Exte

nsio

n

Eq

uip

men

t / fe

rtil

izer

Seed

s &

Bre

ed

s

1 research scope 2 research scope 2 research scope

Strong, formalized linkages

Africa RISING

• Increase above- and below-ground biomass to

improve soil health & system productivity (e.g.,

fertilizer trees, legumes, N/P fertilization)

• Diversification (crop & enterprise) for greater

resilience, productivity, and nutrition

• Integrating livestock and mechanization into

conservation agriculture

• Improve water productivity to reduce risk & enhance

investment

Beyond tradeoffs

Africa RISING

Sustainable intensification

in S. Asian context

• Retention of Crop Residues

• Minimal/zero tillage of soil

• Innovative Cropping Systems

• Mechanization

• Improved Varieties

Target Interventions Outcomes

• Reduced erosion / run-off

• Improved water use efficiency &

soil health

• New crops in rotations

• Reduced labor costs

• Improve total factor

productivity (not just yield!)

How can we intensify production in S. Asian rice and rice-wheat

systems in context of these constraints?

Adding crops to rotation /

intercropping

Sugarcane – pulse intercrop

Sourc

e: IC

AR

DA

Pigeonpea – rice intercrop

Source

: ICR

ISAT

• Using shorter duration varieties & more efficient planting

technologies, add additional crops to rotation (vegetables, legumes)

to increase output + build soil nitrogen

• Intercrop legumes, cereals, etc.

CSISA & Bangladesh Value

Chains

• Partners: WorldFish, IRRI, AVRDC

• Aligned with key Mission Value Chains:

– Rice, Fish, Horticulture (fruits, vegetables)

• Integrated production systems for nutrition

– Aquaculture: polyculture (tilapia/carp + indig. fish)

– Vegetables in dykes/gardens

• orange fleshed sweet potato

• gourds, beans, tomato, brinjal

• Emphasis on women

Research along the value chain

On-farm productivity research

Breeding

Agronomy

Farm animal management

Crop Protection/Animal Health

Technology adoption research

Postharvest handling/Marketing research

Economics of:

• Harvest practices

• Storage

• End-user market opportunities/quality requirements

Utilization research

Developing new processes/products

Addressing nutrition goals with food technology and recipe formulation

Partner outreach in each area facilitates technology uptake

Gender in Value Chains

• Gender equity enhances competitiveness

–Social context important

–Changes affect gender roles

–Diagnose gender-based constraints

–Include men in decision-making

–Enhance women’s roles from

production through to marketing

Breeding Crop

management

Fresh produce

handling Processing

Variety trials on station/on farm

Quality/shelf life

responses to

irrigation

Drying; sauce processing

Packaging, storage,

special treatments

AVRDC – Research

Along Entire Value Chain

Seed company partnership

in E and W Africa

Improving sorghum profitability

Program activities – Integrated sorghum breeding and agronomy research

– Economics research on postharvest storage & markets

Outcomes

– Profitable model developed

– USAID/Mali funding scaled-up dissemination of

Grinkan variety + agronomic package + harvest &

storage systems + targeting sales at peak prices

Sorghum in Mali

Aflatoxin detection in peanuts

• ICRISAT developed inexpensive aflatoxin detection

kits for farmers

• Cut cost of testing from $25 to $1 per sample

• Developed additional pre- and post-harvest

approaches to reduce aflatoxin contamination

• Enables farmers to pursue export opportunities

more easily

ICRISAT aids Peanut exports

- Malawi

Aflatoxin reduction in peanuts - Philippines

• Scale neutral processing technology

– Dry blanching/manual sorting for aflatoxin

contaminated peanuts (GP3 Team, Peanut CRSP)

– Reduces aflatoxin levels to undetectable levels

• Originally developed in Philippines – processor

began exporting to U.S.

• Transferred to processors in Ghana and

Uganda under FTF

Utilization research:

Aflatoxin reduction in peanuts

Pepsico, USAID, & Gov Ethiopia

• Enterprise EthioPEA

– 10,000 Ethiopian farmers double chickpean yields

through sustainable intesnificaiton

– Will create new markets – within Ethiopia and

abroad

• World Food Program will purchase chickpea-based

ready-to-use supplementary food benefitting 40,000

Ethiopian children.

• Strengthen chickpea value chain in Ethiopia

Chickpea partnership in Ethiopia

Evolving Context in SSA

• G8 – AU New Alliance Food Sec and Nutrition

– Grow Africa Partnership

– CAADP National Investment Plans

– Risk Mitigation

– Technology Platform CGIAR/SROs/FARA

– Scaling Seeds and Other Technologies--AGRA