Africa RISING M and E project

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    Impacts of Africa RISING in Tanzania
    (Report, 2024-06-26) Haile, Beliyou; Azzarri, Carlo; Tzintzun, Ivan; Boukaka, Sedi Anne; Vitellozzi, Sveva
    Sustainable intensification (SI) of the smallholder sector in Africa south of the Sahara is among the approaches pursued to build resilient food systems that can supply nutritionally adequate food in the face of rapid population growth and climatic changes. This study assesses the impact of an SI program in Tanzania implemented in the poorest and most food insecure areas of the country since 2012. The program first validated and then scaled up a wide range of SI interventions focused on improved agronomic management and crop cultivars; improved livestock feed, housing conditions, and species; crop-livestock integration; integrated natural resource management; vegetable production and nutritional education; and small-scale mechanization. Impact is estimated on several SI indicators and domains using two rounds of quasi-experimental panel data (conducted in 2014 and 2022), propensity score matching, and difference-in-differences techniques. The study design allows us to estimate the impact of Africa RISING by comparing outcomes among program beneficiaries with two different counterfactual groups—one located inside program villages (within-village comparison) and another in non-program (control) villages (out-of-village comparison)—on several indicators across five SI domains environment, productivity, economic, human, and social. We also conduct a placebo test comparing non-beneficiaries in the two counterfactual groups. Results from panel data analyses show improvements in several indicators in the environmental and productivity domains. We also find positive impact of participation in Africa RISING on several indicators under all the considered domains: beneficiaries were less likely to experience soil erosion, used more inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, and seeds) per hectare, obtained higher legume yields, were more likely to produce meat and dairy, reported higher net livestock income, and experienced fewer months of food insecurity. Estimates based on within-village, out-of-village, overall, and placebo comparisons suggest important insights about the challenges in assessing the impact of agricultural programs in general and, specifically, participatory multi-intervention programs in the presence of sample (self-)selection and spillovers. Our study highlights useful empirical lessons learned for informing future program design and impact assessments.
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    Africa RISING in Tanzania: Impact brief
    (Brief, 2024-06-26) Azzarri, Carlo; Boukaka, Sedi Anne; Vitellozzi, Sveva
    Africa RISING project in Tanzania was implemented in Babati, Kongwa, and Kiteto districts. The project aimed at improving cropping systems through the promotion of stress resilient and high-yielding crop varieties (groundnut, sorghum, maize, and pigeon pea), support of cereal-legume intercropping, and fostering of good agricultural practices in vegetable production through reduction in pesticide use. The project also supported the adoption of a series of natural resource management practices such as rainwater harvesting, planting of fodder crops, use of mineral fertilizers, and balanced application of farmyard manure. In addition, the livestock system arm of the project introduced improved animal feeding to boost egg and milk production and reduce feed costs. Other program interventions included mechanization for postharvest handling and introduction of an integrated nutrition package for nutrition and health gains, especially for children.
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    Impacts of Africa RISING in Ghana
    (Report, 2024-06-26) Haile, Beliyou; Azzarri, Carlo; Castaing, Pauline; Kizito, Fred; Vitellozzi, Sveva; Boukaka, Sedi Anne
    Sustainable intensification (SI) of the smallholder sector in Africa south of the Sahara is among the approaches pursued to build resilient food systems that can supply nutritionally adequate food in the face of rapid population growth and climatic changes. This study assesses the impact of Africa RISING, an SI program in Ghana implemented in the poorest and most food insecure areas of the country since 2012. The program first validated and then scaled up a wide range of SI interventions focused on improved agronomic management and crop cultivars; improved livestock feed, housing conditions, and species; crop-livestock integration; integrated natural resource management; vegetable production and nutritional education; and small-scale mechanization. Impact is estimated using two rounds of quasi-experimental panel data (conducted in 2014 and 2020), propensity score matching, and difference-indifferences techniques. The study design allows us to estimate the impact of Africa RISING by comparing outcomes among program beneficiaries with those of two different control groups—one residing in program villages (within village comparison) and another in non-program (control) villages (out-of-village comparison) on several indicators across five SI domains—environment, productivity, economic, human, and social. We also conduct a placebo test comparing non-beneficiaries in the two control groups. Results from panel data analyses show improvements in several indicators in the environmental and productivity domains. We also find a positive impact on use of conservation practices (fallowing, disc/moldboard ploughing, manure), groundnut yield, livestock, net crop income, and women’s likelihood of becoming members of farmers groups relative to non-beneficiaries. We do not find a statistically significant effect on consumption- and asset-based poverty rates, household dietary diversity, and several indicators of maternal and child nutrition. For both beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries, the share of monetary-based non-poor, dietary diversity, and food security have declined between baseline (2014) and follow-up (2020) likely due COVID-19. Our study highlights useful empirical lessons learned for informing future program design and impact assessments.
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    Africa RISING in Ghana: Impact brief
    (Brief, 2024-06-26) Azzarri, Carlo; Boukaka, Sedi Anne; Vitellozzi, Sveva
    The Africa RISING project in Ghana was implemented in 25 communities across the Upper East, Upper West, and Northern regions. The project supported the promotion of early maturing maize varieties and maize-cowpea intercropping, optimal crop spacing for increased groundnut yield, and maize-leaf stripping for livestock feed. It also aimed to foster the adoption of improved feeding for livestock to boost manure production, reduce animal mortality, and increase animal reproduction rates. Alongside these interventions, Africa RISING promoted effective natural resource management (leaf stripping, manure production, and use of nitrogen fertilizer). Mechanization for postharvest handling was also supported, especially the use of fuel-powered maize-shelling machines.
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    Africa RISING impact assessment report
    (Report, 2024-06-21) Haile, Beliyou; Boukaka, Sedi Anne; Azzarri, Carlo
    This report summarizes lessons from cross-country analyses of the impact of the Africa RISING (AR) program. Implemented in six countries—Ethiopia, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, Mali, and Ghana—AR aimed to provide pathways out of hunger and poverty for smallholders by sustainably intensifying their farming systems in order to enhance income and food security, particularly for women and children, while conserving or enhancing the natural resource base. Phase I (2012–2016) focused on the validation of demand-driven sustainable intensification (SI) innovations, while Phase II (2016–2022) focused on the scaling of a subset of validated SI innovations in partnership with development partners. Our impact assessment studies covered all program countries, except Zambia, and are based on two rounds of household panel survey data, excluding Ethiopia for which program effect is estimated using one round of survey data. Impact is estimated using the difference-in-differences method for countries with panel data or, for Ethiopia, based on simple comparison of outcomes between program beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries. The choice of impact indicators is guided by the Sustainable Intensification Assessment Framework (SIAF) framework and survey data availability. Impact indicators encompass the five sustainable intensification (SI) domains discussed in the SIAF: environment, productivity, economic, human, and social.
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    Impacts of Africa RISING in Malawi
    (Report, 2024-06-24) Haile, Beliyou; Azzarri, Carlo; Boukaka, Sedi Anne; Chikowo, Regis; Vitellozzi, Sveva
    This study evaluates the impact of Africa RISING, a large-scale sustainable intensification (SI) program that has been implemented in Central Malawi’s Dedza and Ntcheu districts beginning in 2012. Using a participatory action research framework, the program validated and promoted alternative SI options including fertilized maize, maize-legume intercropping, intercropping of two compatible legumes, cereal-legume rotation, and double-row planting of legumes. Impact is estimated on several SI indicators and domains using two rounds of panel data and difference-in-differences techniques. The unique study design allowed us to estimate impact by comparing outcomes among program beneficiaries with two different counterfactual groups—one located inside program villages (within village comparison) and another in non-program (control) villages (out-of-village comparison). We also conduct a placebo test comparing non-beneficiaries in the two counterfactual groups. The within-village comparison shows positive impact on several agricultural and economic indicators including access to agricultural information, value of harvest, on-farm diversity, labor profitability, annual net household income, per capita household consumption expenditure, household wealth, and household dietary diversity score. We do not find a statistically significant impact on human indicators such as child and maternal nutrition. Estimates based on within-village, out-of-village, and placebo comparisons suggest important insights about the challenges in assessing the impact of agricultural programs in general and, specifically, participatory multi-intervention programs in the presence of sample (self-)selection and spillovers. Our study highlights important lessons learned to inform future program design and impact assessments.
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    Impacts of Africa RISING in Mali
    (Report, 2024-06-24) Haile, Beliyou; Azzarri, Carlo; Boukaka, Sedi Anne; Tzintzun, Ivan; Vitellozzi, Sveva
    This study evaluates the impact of Africa RISING, a sustainable intensification (SI) program, implemented in Bougouni, Yanfolila, and Koutiala cercles in southern Mali beginning in 2012. Using a participatory action research framework, the program validated and promoted alternative SI options including fertilized groundnut and sorghum, crop-legume intercropping, intercropping of two compatible legumes, access to extension services, and fertilizer microdosing, while preserving ecosystem services in the face of projected population growth and climatic changes. Impact is estimated on several SI indicators and domains using two rounds of quasi-experimental panel data (surveys conducted in 2014 and 2022) and difference-in-differences techniques. The unique study design allows us to estimate the impact of Africa RISING by comparing outcomes among program beneficiaries with two different counterfactual groups—one located inside program villages (within-village comparison) and another in non-program (control) villages (out-of-village comparison) on several indicators across five SI domains—environment, productivity, economic, human, and social. We also conduct a placebo test comparing non-beneficiaries in the two counterfactual groups. We find few statistically significant differences in the averages of the characteristics in the environmental and productivity domain among households in the within-village and out-of-village comparisons, most likely because of misreporting of program participation. Overall comparisons between households in target and non-target villages show a positive impact of AR on environmental variables such as access to extension services, and adoption of improved crops; on productivity variables such as green bean, cotton and okra yield; and on economic variables such as an increase in the non-agricultural wealth index; but no statistically significant effect on human and social indicators, namely household dietary diversity, food consumption scores, and nutritional indicators for children 0–59 months old and women 15–49 years old. Estimates based on within-village, out-of-village, and placebo comparisons suggest important insights about the challenges in assessing the impact of agricultural programs in general and, specifically, participatory multi-intervention programs in the presence of sample (self-)selection and spillovers. Our study highlights useful empirical lessons learned to inform future program design and impact assessments.
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    Monitoring and evaluation data requirement guide
    (Report, 2017-05-30) Azzarri, Carlo; Haile, Beliyou
    Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) are integral parts of project management and play a crucial role in assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of investments in research and development interventions. Inadequate planning and capacity for timely collection, analysis, and dissemination of data are among the challenges usually faced during the M&E of programs, outputs, and outcomes. This document provides a guideline on M&E data requirements for Africa RISING (hereon after AR) to ease some of these challenges. The successful implementation of the guidelines herein requires a strong collaboration and follow up by the M&E team, AR researchers, chief scientists, and program managers as summarized in Table 1 below. The rest of the guide is organized as follows. Section 1 outlines data needs regarding different types of program beneficiaries and sustainable intensification (SI) innovations. Section 2 discusses Feed the Future indicators data requirements. Notes about the indicators of SI developed by Michigan State University researchers as part of the SI Indicators Framework (SIIF) are in Section 3. Section 4 discusses some guidelines for agronomic and socioeconomic data collection.
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    Typology characterization of farmers in Africa RISING sites in Ethiopia
    (Report, 2016-04-30) Signorelli, S.; Azzarri, Carlo; Haile, Beliyou
    This document presents a summary of a typology study done using quantitative statistical methods (discussed below) applied to micro data from the Ethiopia Africa RISING Baseline Evaluation Survey (EARBES) (conducted in 2014) and secondary data on environmental/biophysical variables from various source. The quantitative approaches have the advantage that they are reproducible and do not impose any ex-ante structure to the clustering process, while more qualitative approaches can potentially incorporate less tangible insights such as cultural patterns. Once the different farm types are identified through systematic quantitative analysis, they need to be validated with input from Africa RISING colleagues (especially working in Ethiopia).
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    Typology characterization of farmers in Africa RISING sites in Mali
    (Report, 2016-03-30) Signorelli, S.; Azzarri, Carlo; Haile, Beliyou
    This document presents a summary of a typology study done using quantitative statistical methods (discussed below) applied to micro data from the Mali Africa RISING Baseline Evaluation Survey (MARBES) (conducted in 2014) and secondary data on environmental/biophysical variables from various source. The quantitative approaches have the advantage that they are reproducible and do not impose any ex-ante structure to the clustering process, while more qualitative approaches can potentially incorporate less tangible insights such as cultural patterns. Once the different farm types are identified through systematic quantitative analysis, they need to be validated with input from Africa RISING colleagues (especially working in Mali).
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    Typology characterization of farmers in Africa RISING sites in Ghana
    (Report, 2016-03-30) Signorelli, S.; Azzarri, Carlo; Haile, Beliyou
    This document presents a summary of a typology study done using quantitative statistical methods (discussed below) applied to micro data from the Ghana Africa RISING Baseline Evaluation Survey (GARBES) (conducted in 2014) and secondary data on environmental/biophysical variables from various source. The quantitative approaches have the advantage that they are reproducible and do not impose any ex-ante structure to the clustering process, while more qualitative approaches can potentially incorporate less tangible insights such as cultural patterns. Once the different farm types are identified through systematic quantitative analysis, they need to be validated with input from Africa RISING colleagues (especially working in Ghana).
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    Typology characterization of farmers in Africa RISING sites in Tanzania
    (Report, 2016-04-30) Signorelli, S.; Azzarri, Carlo; Haile, Beliyou
    This document presents a summary of a typology study done using quantitative statistical methods (discussed below) applied to micro data from the Tanzania Africa RISING Baseline Evaluation Survey (TARBES) (conducted in 2014) and secondary data on environmental/biophysical variables from various source. The quantitative approaches have the advantage that they are reproducible and do not impose any ex-ante structure to the clustering process, while more qualitative approaches can potentially incorporate less tangible insights such as cultural patterns. Once the different farm types are identified through systematic quantitative analysis, they need to be validated with input from Africa RISING colleagues (especially working in Tanzania).
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    Typology characterization of farmers in Africa RISING sites in Malawi
    (Report, 2016-04-30) Signorelli, S.; Azzarri, Carlo; Haile, Beliyou
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    Collaborative evaluation opportunities in Africa RISING Phase II
    (Presentation, 2017-01-17) Azzarri, Carlo
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    Africa RISING Baseline Evaluation Survey (ARBES) report for Mali
    (Report, 2016-05-30) Howard, P.; Azzarri, Carlo; Haile, Beliyou; Comanescu, M.; Roberts, C.; Signorelli, S.
    As part of its Feed the future Initiative, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) supported the development of an innovative research for development project to promote the sustainable intensification of small-scale agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. Smallscale agriculture represents the main economic activity of the majority of sub-Saharan African population. Therefore, to address global hunger and poverty, the Feed the Future initiative (FtF) developed Africa RISING (Research In Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation). Africa RISING is an agricultural research program aiming to provide pathways out of hunger and poverty for small holder families, in particular for women and children, through the development of farming systems that can sufficiently improve nutrition and income security, while conserving or enhancing the natural resource pool.
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    Africa RISING Baseline Evaluation Survey (ARBES) report for Malawi
    (Report, 2016-05-30) Shee, Apurba; Azzarri, Carlo; Haile, Beliyou; Comanescu, M.; Roberts, C.; Signorelli, S.
    This report presents overall summaries of Malawi Africa RISING Baseline Evaluation Survey (MARBES) data that cover 1,149 households in Africa RISING areas in central region of Malawi covering two districts (Dedza and Ntcheu). Following a description of survey design and tools, the report presents main findings in the form of cross tabulation, tables and graphs for both household and community level survey data. The summaries of the household data include demography, agricultural land characteristics, production and inputs, storage facility, livestock ownership, dwelling characteristics, agricultural related shocks, and children and women anthropometry. The community data summary covers community demography, access to basic services, labor in agriculture, agriculture related problems and solutions, land use and major crops, migration, availability of water resources, and prevalence of shocks