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Research and development challenges in scaling innovation: a case study of the LEAP-Agri RAMSES II project

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Abstract

A widely held assumption is that intensifying agroforestry will lead to sustainable increases in production, societal resilience and food security, urgently needed in the current context of changes in markets, climate and demography. Current thinking assumes that to achieve sustainable innovation a participatory approach with public, civil and private stakeholders is necessary, combined with a systemic, trans-disciplinary approach, rather than a technical approach. This study presents a case of applying the Theory of Change (ToC) concept to test this assumption. The ToC was designed to articulate the process of scaling of action-research findings, and to adapt the research to the context of complex agroforestry systems at plot, household, farm, village and landscape levels. This allowed to develop an intervention logic that unpacks what sustainability means for farmers and other local stakeholders in four West African agroforestry systems. The conceptual approach created an awareness of potential impacts of scaling initiatives based on a ToC with pathways to impact combined with monitoring the effects of the research & development project on a variety of ecological, agronomic and economic performance indicators. A number of constraints and paradoxes that are linked to current research and development short term funding are also discussed.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all partners, stakeholders and communities in the project for their involvement. The RAMSES II project is funded via the LEAP-Agri ERA-Net Cofund Call 2017, a joint Europe Africa Research and Innovation initiative related to Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture with a financial support of the European Commission, Agence Française de Développement, France (AFD); Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), France; Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) via the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, The Netherlands; Fond d’Impulsion de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique (FIRST), Senegal; and the Fonds National de la Recherche et de l’Innovation pour le Développement (FONRID), Burkina Faso.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Eco&sols, Montpellier University, Cirad, INRA, IRD, Montpellier SupAgro, Montpellier, France

    J. Seghieri

  2. Wageningen Center for Development Innovation, Wageningen University and Research (WUR), Wageningen, The Netherlands

    J. Brouwers

  3. Laboratoire des Afriques dans le Monde (LAM), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Bordeaux, France

    J-E. Bidou

  4. Department of Forest and Nature Conservation Policy, Wageningen University and Research (WUR), Wageningen, The Netherlands

    V. Ingram

  5. International Research Unit (UMI) Résiliences, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Bondy, France

    I. Droy

  6. Département Environnement et Forêts (DEF)/ Farako Bâ, Institut de l’Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles (INERA), Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso

    B. Bastide

  7. Centre National de Recherches Forestières (CNRF), Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles (ISRA), Dakar, Sénégal

    D. Sanogo

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  1. J. Seghieri
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Correspondence to J. Seghieri.

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Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

LEAP-Agri is a joint Europe Africa Research and Innovation (R&I) initiative related to Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA) <https://www.leap-agri.com>.

RAMSES II: Roles of Agroforestry in sustainable intensification of small farMs and food SEcurity for SocIetIes in West Africa <https://josianeseghieri.wixsite.com/ramsesii> one of the 27 projects funded by the Europe Africa LEAP-Agri initiative.

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Seghieri, J., Brouwers, J., Bidou, JE. et al. Research and development challenges in scaling innovation: a case study of the LEAP-Agri RAMSES II project. Agroforest Syst 95, 1371–1382 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-020-00532-3

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