RTB Workshop Reports

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/81008

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Tools4SeedSystems: Working towards resilience through root, tuber and banana crops in humanitarian settings. Workshop Report.
(Report, 2023-07) Canney-Davison, S.; Davies, L.; McEwan, M.
The Inception Workshop Report. Transforming the Rules of the Game: Gendered Liveability in Peri-urban Dhaka
(Report, 2021-12) International Potato Center; Bangladesh Agricultural University
The inception workshop on “Transforming the Rules of the Game: Gendered Liveability in Peri-urban Dhaka” was held on 20 December 2021 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to introduce the key partners to this project, and to share ideas, knowledge, and experiences that could helpfully inform the execution of the research. Thirty-three people (50% women) participated in this workshop, including government officers, local and international NGO representatives, university staff and private sector employees from the garment industry. Collectively, this group represented expertise in many subjects such as nutrition, food systems, environment, and urban development. The participants shared some practical approaches towards improving the living environment and food/water/nutrition for poor residents in urban areas. This workshop highlighted the importance of cross-sectoral collaboration with diverse institutions to understand the government’s priorities and interests. This report outlines key points and messages including feedback from project partners. The links to key documents are also included in this report.
Training workshop report on good agricultural practices for the production and conservation of seed potato in the West, Adamawa, and Northwest regions. Workshop report.
(Report, 2021-12) Fornkwa, V.; Harahagazwe, D.; Adamu, I.; Tiozang, E.; Apan, A.; Ngwa, L.; Djatsa, E.; Woulbe, C.; Mafouo, H.; Anagho, R.
The International Potato Center (CIP), in collaboration with the Green Innovation Centers for the Food and Agriculture sector (ProCISA), the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MINADER), and the Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD), organized and facilitated training workshops for seed growers on Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) for the production and conservation of seed potato. The workshops that took place in ADYS hotel in Dschang on 26 – 27 April 2021, TRANSCAM hotel in Ngaoundere on 5 – 7 May 2021, ADYS Hotel in Dschang on 9 -11 August 2021, brought together active and potential seed growers from the West, Adamawa, and Northwest regions, respectively. Seed growers from Lebialem division (South-West region) were also invited to join the Northwest cohort. The aim of the workshops was to share the knowledge with participants on Good Agricultural Practices for the production and conservation of seed potato. The workshops were moderated by the regional MINADER – ProCISA Focal Points and facilitated by CIP and IRAD researchers, as well as representatives of the Directorate of Regulation and Quality Control of Agricultural Inputs and Products (DRCQ). In the Adamawa, a translator was brought on board to translate all the presentations and questions and answersinto the local language Fulfulde, given that participants could neither express themselves in the French language nor understand it. This was an opportunity for participants in the three regions to (i) identify the constraints they face in seed production and conservation, (ii) know about the standard seed and variety schemes, (iii) learn GAPs for the production and conservation of seed potato, (iv) and identify their individual needs and define individual action plans to improve their agribusiness in seed potato. The theoretical sessions were conducted in a participatory manner combining PowerPoint presentations, questions, and answers as well as discussions and sharing of personal experiences. Field demonstrations were equally carried out during which participants were drilled on the identification of pests and diseases, positive and negative selection, dehaulming, phytosanitary treatment, and the proper handling of phytosanitary products, amongst others. Participants in the workshops were either active seed potato growers or those aspiring to venture into seed potato production. In the West region, fifteen (15) participants attended, of whom only one (01) was a woman. In the Adamawa region, eighteen (18) participants took part, of whom six (06) were women. For the Northwest region and Lebialem division, twenty-four (24) participants attended the training, of whom six (06) were women. At the end of the workshops, trainees were satisfied with the knowledge acquired and expressed the need to be accompanied for bettering the quality and quantity of their seed in their respective regions and divisions.
Report on the first virtual seminar for the course on the RTB Toolbox for Working with Root, Tuber and Banana Seed Systems. July 26, 28-29, 2021
(Report, 2021-08) Bentley, J.W.; Andrade-Piedra, J.L.; McEwan, M.; Almekinders, Conny J.M.
This seminar launched the course on the RTB Toolbox for Working with Root, Tuber and Banana Seed Systems, covering 12 tools for studying and documenting these systems (https://tools4seedsystems.org/). The online seminar was held for two hours a day (26, 28 and 29 July 2021) and was attended by between 85 and 134 participants from 26 to 39 countries. The Toolbox originally included a set of 11 tools and a glossary, but in this seminar an additional tool was also discussed (the Cassava Seed Unit Toolkit). The RTB crops are important for food security, and they have unique, vegetative seed, which is challenging to breed, trade, transport and store. Each of the tools is presented briefly, with a link to the PowerPoint and to the video of the recorded presentation. This report emphasizes the question-and-answer session that followed each presentation. This seminar is the first of three phases in a practical course on the Toolbox. Phase 2 is fieldwork using selected tools, and Phase 3 will be a seminar to present the results of those studies.
Report of the virtual RTB ISC Annual Meeting 2021. The Grand Finale. July 7-9, 2021
(Report, 2021-07) Bentley, J.W.; Thiele, Graham; Bonaiuti, Enrico
OBJECTIVES • Progress by flagships shared with Independent Steering Committee (ISC) and RTB community • Reflection of RTB achievements and challenges • Contribute to the transition to One CGIAR with collective knowledge assets • Consolidate lessons learnt for implementation of new initiatives
RTB Meeting Report: Piloting the G+ Tools
(Report, 2020) CGIAR Gender and Breeding Initiative
Over the last three years, the CGIAR Gender and Breeding Initiative (GBI) has been developing the G+ Customer Profile Tool and the G+ Product Profile Query Tool (the G+ Tools) to help integrate gender issues into breeding programs to increase crop varietal adoption and bring about greater social impact. In 2019, the CGIAR Excellence in Breeding Platform (EiB) approved a grant to pilot the G+ Tools in two African-based breeding programs for beans and cassava. The piloting implied integration of the Tools into the EIB product profile development framework. Later CIP, with the support of RTB, incorporated the sweetpotato breeding program in Uganda to be part of the piloting process. Eventually, representatives from the banana and cereals and lentils breeding programs in Uganda and the CWANA region, respectively, also joined the process. A workshop in Nairobi in March 2020 marked the beginning of the piloting project. Following the workshop, each of the piloting teams returned to their home institutions to pilot the Tools and their standard operating procedure (SOP). However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, changes were made to the original project timeline. Most notably, the project got a no-cost extension until the end of December 2020 and the planned “Evaluation and Learning” workshop was replaced by eight digital meetings taking place from September to December 2020. By generating feedback on the G+ Tools and their SOP, the piloting project was pivotal in advancing towards an alpha version of the Tools, to be released in 2021. Additionally, the piloting helped identify critical gaps in the EiB framework. Through two main rounds of adjustments, the GBI made important suggestions for improving the social inclusiveness and gender responsiveness of the EiB product profile development process, most notably by emphasizing the human face of breeding: the definition of market segments and product profiles should strongly focus on the people – gender and social inclusion should be at the heart of breeding. Thus, addressing in particular those who have been missed by breeding programs or are not currently served by available varieties. The piloting teams further found that the G+ Tools helped facilitate insightful and constructive discussions with breeders and economists on the importance of being gender responsive, including the potential for harmful and beneficial effects of traits on men and women, and how being socially inclusive can lead to increased variety turnover rates. Furthermore, the piloting process has been important in highlighting the need to give voice and power to gender researchers in developing, monitoring, and evaluating market segmentation and product profiles. Many participants felt that the piloting project was only the beginning – a first, essential step towards the goal of rendering breeding programs gender responsive. For most, the G+ Tools helped identify key information gaps that should be communicated to higher management levels, donors, and other partners: the data gaps suggest the need to reallocate effort and budgets towards understanding, ex ante, what the customer landscape looks like.
Knowledge Sharing and Piloting Tools for Gender Responsive Product Profile Development
(Report, 2020) CGIAR Gender and Breeding Initiative
Hackathon to develop market segments and product profiles for breeding programs
(Report, 2020-11) Friedmann, M.; Storr, S.; Thiele, Graham
Third AsiaBlight Meeting. Beijing, China, 25-27 October 2019
(Report, 2020-07) Lasserre, C.; Maurer, A.; Li, M.; Kear, P.; Lu, X.; Andrade-Piedra, J.L.
The 3rd. AsiaBlight meeting was hosted by CCCAP and the College of Plant Protection at the China Agricultural University (CAU) in Beijing in October 2019. The meeting included sessions on the following topics: (1) potato late blight in Asia and beyond; (2) late blight biology, genetics, and population dynamics in Asia; (3) plantpathogen interactions and potato resistance; and (4) late blight management, fungicides, and decision support systems. The program included 33 oral presentations (7 of them presented as posters as well), and three posters (Annex 1). The meeting was attended by 111 participants (Annex 2) from 17 countries: Bangladesh, Belgium, Chile, China, Georgia, India, Japan, Nepal, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.
Report of Virtual Conference. BASICS Phase I - Achievements and Learnings Meeting. May 18-19, 2020
(Report, 2020-05) Bentley, J.W.; Nitturkar, H.; Friedmann, M.; Thiele, Graham
The Building an Economically Sustainable Integrated Cassava Seed System in Nigeria (BASICS) project began in 2016 and formally ends on 30 June 2020. The project has made progress in demonstrating that commercially viable production and sale of breeder, foundation and certified seed is possible. Furthermore, the project has established a strong basis for building a sustainable seed system by developing building blocks across the seed value chain. This meeting had the following objectives: 1. To identify the achievements and lessons learned in each of the project components; 2. To identify the shortcomings in each component (what would I do differently, knowing what I know now?), remaining challenges and ideas to overcome them; 3. To assess and discuss the challenges and progress made in integrating the components into an integrated seed system and identify ways integration can be improved; 4. To assess and discuss the commercial sustainability of the seed system and identify options to promote its sustainability and further scaling; and 5. To make plans for the publication of the findings and lessons learned during BASICS-1
Taller internacional sobre prevencion de la diseminacion de las principales plagas y enfermedades de la papa en la region andina. Informe del taller de RTB.
(Report, 2020-04-20) Pérez, W.; Gamarra, H.; Arango, E.; Cruz, W.; Kreuze, Jan F.; Andrade-Piedra, J.L.
En el marco del Año Internacional de la Sanidad Vegetal (AISV), el Centro Internacional de la Papa (CIP), el Servicio Nacional de Sanidad Agraria (SENASA) y el Instituto Nacional de Innovación Agraria (INIA) organizaron el Taller internacional sobre prevencion de la diseminacion de las principales plagas y enfermedades de la papa en la region andina en Lima, Perú, del 20 al 22 de enero del 2020. Asistieron 62 profesionales provenientes de organizaciones gubernamentales, empresas privadas, asociaciones de productores, centros de investigación, universidades y organizaciones de cooperación internacional. Trece expertos nacionales e internacionales expusieron temas de relevancia sobre las plagas ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia’ (posible agente causal de la punta morada en Ecuador), Bactericera cockerelli (el psílido de la papa) y ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ (agente causal del manchado interno de la papa). Las presentaciones incluyeron temas de biología, ecología, importancia económica, manejo, diagnóstico, situación a nivel mundial y situación en el Ecuador. Se identificó que las actividades más importantes al momento son la confirmación de el o los agentes causales de la punta morada en Ecuador, y el desarrollo de métodos de diagnóstico. Se identificaron 16 posibles donantes y se lograron acuerdos para elaborar propuestas de investigaciones e implementar acciones de vigilancia para evitar el ingreso de estas plagas cuarentenarias al Perú y a otros países de la región andina. Se creará un Comité Técnico que estará a cargo de implementar las acciones definidas durante el taller y asegurar la coordinación con instituciones nacionales y regionales.
Reaching next users: Seeking collaborations and applications. Workshop RTB CC2.1. Phase 2. 14–17 March 2019, Ibadan, Nigeria
(Report, 2019-03-01) Kilwinger, Fleur B.M.; Kihiu, R.; Almekinders, Conny J.M.; Andrade-Piedra, J.L.; McEwan, M.
The CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Banana (RTB) CC2.1 community gathered at the campus of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)–Ibadan for their yearly meeting. The meeting was used to update each other on the progress on the various tool‐development activities and their applications. In three sessions with parallel presentations the participants got a flavor for what all is in the RTB toolbox, representing a snapshot of its content, purpose and users, complemented with a heat map. Discussion time was used to consider what the toolbox is expected to do: Is it answering our questions? Who are the next users of the tools or of the knowledge that the tools generate? An update on gender in breeding, gender tools, and knowledge management in the RTB seed system cluster marked the end of this part of the workshop. The rest of the time was used to flesh out lines of collaborative work for the year and beyond, culminating in action plans. Day 3 was used for a learning journey with the chance to see several activities on the IITA campus. The workshop also included a statistical R course, implemented by the University of Florida (UF) team, which was open as well to those other than RTB CC2.1 members.
Sharing experiences and developing collaboration to integrate gender in breeding programs.
(Working Paper, 2019-08-01) Polar, Vivian
RTB as leader of the Gender and Breeding initiative has been interacting with the Excellence in Breeding Platform EiB to promote a formal integration of gender into product profile development processes. Currently, there are some tools available from the Gender and Breeding Initiative that will be piloted with some breeding programs. On the other hand, many breeding programs are also working with a variety of tools and approaches on initiatives like ABACUSBIO Ltd., RTBfoods, and others. The objective of the meeting is to share different experiences and tools used to integrate social differentiation and gender into product profile development and to develop collaboration within and between different researchers in the breeding programs.
2019 Annual review and planning meeting of BASICS project
(Report, 2019-03-01) CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas
The BASICS Annual Review and Planning Meeting (ARPM) 2019 was held in IITA Headquarters in Ibadan, Nigeria from 11-13 March 2019. The Meeting was attended by around 70 participants from Nigeria and several other countries. The participants included breeders, food and crop scientists, project managers, national policy experts, R&D managers, donor, social scientists and company representatives. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting will be published on the BASICS website (http://www.rtb.cgiar.org/basics/) The purpose of the current summary is to synthesize some of the discussions, conclusions and points for future action. There are links within this document to access the actual presentations made during the ARPM. The main aim of the ARPM was to reiterate the project vision, share what has been done, what is to be done in 2019 and brainstorm on what needs to be done over a possible next phase of activities to achieve the goal of developing an economically sustainable seed system for cassava in Nigeria. Towards this, the ARPM over the three days was planned with the following objectives listed below.
Changing behavior through agriculture-nutrition integration: field experience and results. Regional Technical Committee meeting of the Scaling Up Sweetpotato Through Agriculture and Nutrition (SUSTAIN) project, 11–12 September 2018, Kigali, Rwanda
(Report, 2019-02) Grant, F.; Ackatia-Armah, R.; Kebaara, K.
The Regional Technical Committee meeting of SUSTAIN in Kigali, held in September 2018, was organized to disseminate the results from the analyses of data from surveys, monitoring, and focus group discussions on SUSTAIN and VISTA–Tanzania projects. These analyses were conducted to provide insight into the implementation of the projects and also to shed light on the likely reasons for the observations made in the quantitative analysis. Results from field discussions with CIP partners – local and international NGOs, local government institutions, national and international organizations, the private sector, and donors – were also shared.
Incentives and constraints to an expanded and viable orange‐fleshed sweetpotato value chain: The case of Kenya.
(Report, 2019-01) Okello, J.J.
In order to systematically document and analyze the experiences of working with various partners on the assessment of the orangefleshed sweetpotato commercial value chain in Kenya, SUSTAIN project conducted a systematic study focusing on various value chain actors. The overall research question addressed by the study was: What factors determine the early interest and uptake of OFSP processing by commercial partners in the urban food sector, and how can incentives be created for private sector (co‐)investments at different stages of program implementation? The study focused on the following specific research questions: i. How has the OFSP value chain developed – 2014 to date? ii. What have been the outcomes and why: That is, what have been opportunities (incentives) and challenges (constraints)? iii. How were the challenges resolved and opportunities exploited? In addressing the last question, the study examined the institutional innovations that were used to overcome the constraints and how they lay the foundations for a viable and sustainable value chain.
Incentives and disincentives to investment in orange-fleshed sweetpotato - The case of a pro-poor public-private partnership in Rwanda. Technical assessment of orange-fleshed sweetpotato value chain in Rwanda.
(Report, 2019-01) Muoki, Penina Ngusye; Kwikiriza, N.
Value chain development that involves smallholder farmers has become a key focus for donors, government and development agencies to reduce poverty. However, these value chains face various challenges, in part due to smallholders’ inability to take risks required to invest. This calls for creation of incentives to propel the development of such value chains and attract private investors. The aim of this study was to document the incentives created along the implementation pathway of orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) value chain development in Rwanda. The study used qualitative data collected through key informant interviews (KIIs) among purposely selected value chain actors and gender segregated focus group discussions (FGDs). Quantitative data collected as part of routine project monitoring has been used to corroborate and further explain trends reported in the qualitative data. The results show that, through pro-poor public-private partnerships in rural Rwanda, an OFSP value chain that links smallholder farmers to formal markets has been established. Various incentives that were created during development of the chain are highlighted. Challenges and possible uncertainties as value chain actors expand their operations have been identified.
System strengthening approaches for scaling up development outcomes from agricultural research. Knowledge sharing workshop. 13‐15 November 2018, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
(Report, 2019-01) Vugt, D. van; Lemaga, B.; Heck, S.; Brouwers, J.
CIP organized a workshop to share, review and analyze experiences and results from system strengthening approaches across the potato and sweetpotato programs in Ethiopia, Malawi and Mozambique, as well as other initiatives that are working towards the same goal. The workshop brought together some fifty participants from Ethiopia, Malawi and Mozambique, together with CIP staff from its headquarters in Lima and the CIP Africa Regional Office, as well as a delegation from Irish Aid and other interested partners from West Africa.
Gender-Responsive product profile development tool. Workshop Report. November 12-13. Ithaca, USA
(Report, 2018-12) CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas; CGIAR Gender and Breeding Initiative
A small group of breeders, gender specialists and other breeding team members met for two days at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY in November of 2018 to review the first two prototype tools developed by the Gender in Breeding Initiative (GBI) and jointly work toward their refinement for the next steps of validation with case studies. These tools address the key questions of breeding for whom and prioritizing which traits with the Customer Profile and Product Profile Development Tools, respectively. GBI tools will be closely coordinated with the Product Design processes of the Excellence in Breeding Platform (EiB) of CGIAR, to assure gender relevance of tools for breeders in the CGIAR, as well as support to NARI and other programs.
Report of the RTB Annual Meeting 2018
(Report, 2018-11) CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas
The objectives of the RTB annual meeting were: 1) To socialize progress and next steps in program implementation, M&E, communications, gender research and scaling fund; 2) For flagship and cluster leaders to position themselves for better management and science oversight; 3) For flagship project teams to improve internal communication and collaboration plans for next year; 4) To formulate plans and mechanisms for enhancing collaboration across flagships and with other CRPs and Platforms; 5) To identify key ideas to strengthen ongoing and emerging cross-cutting work.

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