CPWF Topic Synthesis Papers
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Item Seven lessons learned to catalyze African innovation through engagement platforms(Report, 2013-07-15) Clayton, Terry; Victor, MichaelEngagement platforms are variously known as multi-stakeholder platforms or innovation platforms. In general terms, an engagement platform is an opportunity for individuals and people representing organizations with different backgrounds and interests to come together to diagnose problems, identify opportunities and implement solutions. They may engage in design and implementation as a platform, in smaller groups, or individually. Over the past ten years, the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) has used engagement platforms across a wide range of scales to address an equally wide range of challenges. Based on this experience, we offer the following lessons as well as case studies.Item A summing up: Synthesis 2007: Changing the way we manage water for food, livelihoods, health and the environment(Report, 2008) Harrington, Larry W.; Humphreys, E.; Huber-Lee, Annette; Nguyen-Khoa, Sophie; Cook, Simon E.; Gichuki, Francis N.; Johnson, Nancy L.; Ringler, Claudia; Geheb, Kim; Woolley, Jonathan N.This reports summarizes and synthesizes activities and achievements of the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) through the end of 2007. The CPWF is an intiative of the CGIAR designed to take on the global challenge of water scarcity and food security. It is an international, multi-institutional researchfor- development initiative that brings together scientists, development specialists and river basin communities, and seeks to create and disseminate international public goods (IPGs) helpful in achieving food security, reducing poverty, improving livelihoods, reducing agriculture–related pollution, and enhancing environmental security. The CPWF conducts its research on water and food in nine ‘benchmark’ river basins, organized around five different themes. This work is being implemented through competitive-call projects, Basin Focal Projects (BFPs), small grant projects and synthesis research. This report is one example of the latter. Projects and outputs Part of the CPWF’s work has focused on increasing water productivity in rainfed environments. Achievements include the further development of conservation agriculture for no-till sowing into crop residues; “slash and mulch” to replace “slash and burn” practices in hillside agriculture; water harvesting systems for dryland locations; understanding livelihood vulnerability and farmers’ coping strategies; and developing and encouraging the distribution—through community ‘participatory’ varietal selection and seed schemes—of drought-tolerant sorghum, wheat, and other crops. Progress has also been made in increasing water productivity in irrigated and salt-affected environments, especially where water is scarce and there are opportunities to increase its productivity. Examples include the development and testing of salt-tolerant germplasm for rice and other crops to make more effective use of salt-affected areas; understanding how to use wastewater in irrigated peri-urban agriculture to produce safe and nutritious vegetables; and developing aerobic rice germplasm and management practices to produce more rice with less water.Item Baseline 2004: Changing the way we manage water for food, livelihoods, health and the environment(Report, 2006) Harrington, Larry W.; Gichuki, Francis N.; Gaheb, K.; Woolley, Jonathan N.There are many options for enhancing food production from fish in managed aquatic systems.The most appropriate technology, however, will vary from place to place, and the conditions under which one technology is prefered over another are still not well defined.Item Stories from the field: Most Significant Change (MSC) synthesis(Other, 2008) Harrington, Larry W.; Douthwaite, Boru; León, C. de; Woolley, Jonathan N.In January of 2007, a number of people working with the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) were invited to tell stories about the “most significant change” (MSC) they had observed as a result of CPWF activity. They were guided by two questions, posed to establish the stories’ domain and time frame of interest. These were: “What has been the most significant technical development/advance made by your CPWF project / theme / basin since the start?” “What has been the most significant partnership change (significant in terms of making scientific progress and/or developmental impact more likely) that has taken place since the start of your CPWF project (or theme or basin)?” This paper aims to pull together some of the threads emerging from these stories, weaving them into a fabric that gives insight into CPWF approaches and achievements.Item Synthesis 2006(Other, 2006) Harrington, Larry W.; Gichuki, Francis N.; Huber-Lee, Annette; Humphreys, E.; Johnson, Nancy L.; Nguyen-Khoa, Sophie; Ringler, Claudia; Geheb, Kim; Woolley, Jonathan N.The purpose of this report is to summarize and synthesize activities and achievements of the CPWF through the end of 2006. The CPWF is a CGIAR Challenge Program designed to take on the global challenge of water scarcity and food security. It takes the form of an international, multi-institutional research-for-development initiative that brings together scientists, development specialists, and river basin communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America. It seeks to create and disseminate international public goods (IPGs) helpful in achieving food security, reducing poverty, improving livelihoods, reducing agriculture–related pollution, and enhancing environmental security. This Challenge Program is a three-phase, 15-year endeavor. Several years have passed since the start of Phase 1 (2003-2008) which began with an inception phase in 2003 and was followed by full CPWF launch in January 2004. Research projects began field operations in mid-2004. This synthesis report, then, only describes work carried out in the first two and a half years of the Program. During this time, CPWF has conducted its research on water and food in nine benchmark basins, organized around five different themes. This work is being implemented through “first call projects”, “basin focal projects”, “small grant projects” and “synthesis research”. This present report is one example of the latter. CPWF projects have made considerable progress in developing innovative technologies, policies and institutions to address water and food issues. Some projects focused on improving agricultural water productivity. Others focused on developing mechanisms to inform multi-stakeholder dialogue and negotiation, or explored ways to value water used to produce ecosystem services. Advances were also made in understanding water-foodpoverty links, and their regional and global policy context.Item Synthesis 2005: Changing the way we manage water for food, livelihoods, health and the environment(Report, 2006) Harrington, Larry W.; Gichuki, Francis N.; Bouman, B.; Johnson, Nancy L.; Ringler, Claudia; Suganan, V.As befits a CGIAR Challenge Program , the CPWF has welcomed a wide range of stake holders and partners in accord with their ability to achieve program goals. Decision on research investments (project selection) have been based on a competitive grants in which proposal quality was evaluated by an interdependent external panel. The usual weakness of a competitive grants approach - lack of coherence in research agenda has been address by Basin Focal Projects and synthesis research.Item Global drivers and processes of change: Topic 4 Synthesis Paper(Report, 2008) Svendsen, G.; Douthwaite, Boru; Cook, Simon E.; Huber-Lee, Annette; Ringler, Claudia; Bryan, ElizabethItem Water benefits sharing for poverty alleviation and conflict management: Topic 3 Synthesis Paper(Report, 2008) White, D.; Wester, F.; Huber-Lee, Annette; Chu Thai Hoanh; Gichuki, Francis N.Item Improving rainwater productivity: Topic 1 Synthesis Paper(Report, 2008) Humphreys, E.; Peden, Donald G.; Twomlow, Stephen; Rockström, Johan; Oweis, Theib Y.; Huber-Lee, Annette; Harrington, Larry W.Item Multi-purpose water systems: Topic 2 Synthesis Paper(Report, 2008) Nguyen-Khoa, Sophie; Huber-Lee, Annette; van Koppen, Barbara; Peden, Donald G.; Andreini, Marc; Smits, S.