Reported end date passed· Climate· Health

CGIAR Initiative: Excellence in Agronomy for Sustainable Intensification and Climate Change Adaptation

Smallholder farming represents over 80% of the world’s farms and produces around 50% of its food supply i;ii;iii. These farming systems are often characterized by degraded soils and/or scarce nutrients and water, low and stagnating crop yields and reduced product quality and profitability iv;v, exacerbated by climate change, low resource use efficiencies, declining soil health vi;vii, and gender inequalities viii;ix, all related to the CGIAR Impact Areas. Smallholder farmers seasonally make critical agronomic decisions regarding crop choice, planting dates, and pest, disease, weed, soil fertility and water management, often based on subpar practices and information. The Excellence in Agronomy (EiA) initiative focuses upon improving the ability of men and women farmers to make appropriate decisions and apply new, climate-adaptive, and gender- and youth-responsive solutions.   Traditional agronomic research increases knowledge through experiments that enhance our understanding of basic processes, but with limited connection to stakeholder demand and often based on outdated approaches. The development, deployment, and uptake of interventions also remains hampered by social, economic and institutional constraints, further confounded by adherence to conventional supply-driven scaling strategies x;xi. As such, realization of genetic gains is also hindered by suboptimal agronomic practices xii.  In response, EiA research objectives are (i) To determine how agronomy research and development (R&D) can leverage advances in diagnostics, data science, geospatial analysis, remote sensing, and behavioral sciences to develop widely applicable and locally-relevant gender- and youth-responsive solutions at scale and (ii) To assess the effectiveness of the Use Case model, constructed around actual demand for agronomic solutions, and implemented through a co-creation process with demand partners, the science community, and other service providers  Appropriate application of diagnostic approaches, modern agronomic and spatial data science methods, and new digital approaches can amplify agronomic advances and accelerate impact at scale through better-targeted, site-specific advisories. However, there is also need for systematic research to understand how farmers can better use these tools, backed by targeted field research to improve crop yields, profitability and quality, resource use efficiency and soil health – and make agile decisions to minimize climate-related risks.   EiA offers a new model and research culture, seizing these opportunities to deliver agronomic gain at scale xiii by facilitating efficiencies through globalized networking and aligning R&D priorities with demands from scaling partners through context-specific Use Cases. It utilizes standardized analytics and decision support approaches in partnership with non-CGIAR Advanced Research Institutes (ARIs) and builds on Use Cases involving multi-actor partnerships. EiA’s priority research themes are: (i) Sustaining soil productivity and ecosystem services; (ii) Climate change adaptation; (iii) Precision cropping system management; and (iv) Perennial crops for livelihoods and conservation. This vision is drawn from experience gained from CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs) and projects including ACAI1, AfricaRISING, AfSIS, CIALCA, CocoaSoils, CSISA, N2Africa, and TAMASA xiv;xv;xvi;xvii;xviii;xix.  Assessment of national and regional priorities supports productivity improvement through efficient use of land, soil, and water resources, with a focus on reversing natural resource degradation, climate adaptation, and digital service provision [EiA_Regional Priority_report_2021]. EiA also aligns with priorities of key funders xiv;xx, and is responding to interests from other One CGIAR Initiatives and ARIs [EiA_Interactions_Other_Initiatives_2021; EiA_Cooperation_with_ARIs].

Source-reported status: active. Timeline labels use reported dates and do not verify current activity.