Description
This PhD project is part of a project led by Wageningen University, in collaboration with CIRAD (Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement), ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics), IER (Institut d’économie rurale) and AMEDD (Association Malienne d’Eveil au Développement Durable.
Agroecological intensification (AEI) is described as a promising way to increase agricultural productivity and nutritious food production, while maintaining healthy ecosystems and equitably improving livelihoods. AEI options can target the various components of the farming systems (crops, trees, soils, livestock, grazing lands, etc.) and are not limited to technologies, but include farm management, institutional arrangements and marketing improvements. Farming systems analysis that is participatory and based on adaptive learning cycles is well positioned to identify AEI options that are tailored to the multi-dimensional and multi-scale context of smallholders.The research relies on a combination of on-farm experiments, modelling and stakeholder engagement to identify AEI solutions. Performance indicators such as agricultural productivity, income and food self-sufficiency will be complemented with information on nutrition, labour requirements, resilience and risk as well as indicators for environmental health, including soil fertility, land use/cover and biodiversity. Approaches for analysing the trade-offs between various AEI domains will be refined and applied in stakeholder consultations.
To understand and alleviate bottlenecks to AEI, constraints and opportunities will be determined for different farm types and other actors along the value chain. The project then plays a facilitating role in connecting farmers with upstream and downstream value chain actors, and feeding information into the discussions between them. A tool will be developed to aid farmers with farm planning and budgeting. AEI pathways will be conceived together with various stakeholders during village and higher-level workshops based on an understanding of biophysical, demographic and socio-economic drivers and trends, and the information on AEI options. Visualizing the multi-criteria outcomes at farm, community and regional level will allow gathering feedback from stakeholders and refining pathways in an iterative process.
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