What do we already know about the effectiveness of agriculture interventions on smallholder farming in Africa? A systematic review of reviews.Campbell Colloquium: Loyola University, Chicago

Centre for Anthropological Research (CfAR)University of Johannesburg

23 May 2013Ruth Stewart, Marcel Korth, Hazel Zaranyika, Natalie Rebelo Da Silva , Laurenz Langer, Nolizwe

Madinga

Brief overview of smallholder farming Methodology adopted in this review of

systematic reviews What areas do the available reviews

cover? What do we already know about

smallholder farming? What are the gaps in the systematic

review evidence? What next?

Outline

Significance of smallholder farming in Africa◦ Produce 80% food in developing

countries◦ Majority of Africa’s farmers◦ Increasingly recognized by donors and

governments as important

Definitions of smallholder farming◦ Family farms ◦ Size based (2 hectares)◦ Resource poor ◦ Mix of commercial and subsistence

production◦ Lack of consensus

Brief overview of smallholder farming

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Systematic review funded by CIDA - which interventions work best for smallholder farmers in Africa, especially young farmers?

3 stage review: 1) Review of reviews 2) Map of impact studies 3) Focused synthesis

Searched for systematic reviews:◦ 7 Databases◦ 6 Systematic Review Libraries

Screened them using inclusion criteria:◦ Study design: systematic reviews with structured

methodology◦ Population: smallholder farmers (noting studies

targeting young farmers & female farmers)◦ Region: included or focused on Africa

(Also captured individual impact studies from within reviews for our map of impact studies)

Methodology for our review of reviews http://secure.worldbank.org/photolibrary/servlet/m

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Coded included reviews using our framework Extracted findings from each review and did a simple narrative

synthesis Framework for describing systematic reviews

Training Innovation / new technology

Infrastructure

Finance

Investment

Innovation

Yield / Productivity

Income / wealth

Food security / Nutrition

Methodology for our review of reviews

Included 14 relevant systematic reviews◦ One review on training ◦ Nine reviews on innovation

and new technology◦ One review on agricultural

infrastructure◦ Four reviews on finance for

farmers

(one review is about both innovation and about infrastructure)

What were the included reviews about?

What were the included reviews about? Framework for describing systematic reviews

Training Innovation / new technology

Infrastructure

Finance

Investment Innovation

Yield / Productivity Waddington et al Bayala et al. Bennet & Franzel IOB Rusinamhodzi et al.

IOB Cole et al

Income / wealth Waddington et al Hall et al. Cole et al. Duvendack et al. Stewart et al. a.Stewart et al. b.

Food security / Nutrition Berti et al. Girad et al. Gunaratna et al. IOB Masset et al.

These are findings from the reviews with relevance to smallholder farming

In our map of impact studies we will explore in more detail interventions which focused specifically on farmers

We haven’t conducted quality appraisal of these reviews – we are trusting what the review authors reported

What do we already know about what works from these completed reviews?

What do we already know about training interventions?

Training: farmer field schools

One systematic review

Yield / Productivity Productivity increasedImproved agricultural outputs

Income / wealth Reduction in pesticide costsIncreased income and revenue

But, we don’t know how sustainable these positive outcomes are

What do we already know about innovation and new technology interventions?

Innovation / new technology

Nine systematic reviews

Yield / Productivity

Conservation agriculture increases crop yieldOrganic and Resource Conserving Agriculture increases yield

Income / wealth

Certification for organic crops increases incomes GM crops have mixed results on economic impacts

Food security / Nutrition Biofortification has mixed results on nutrition impacts

What do we already know about infrastructure interventions?

Infrastructure

One systematic review

Yield / Productivity Generally positive, particularly for land reform

What do we already know about finance interventions?

Finance

Four systematic reviews

Income/wealth Microcredit and microsavings have a positive impact on savings, expenditure and accumulation of assets – but only limited evidence

Commitment savings improve levels of non-financial assets

Microcredit encourages the poor to engage in economic activities

No improvement in income and wealth

Index based insurance increases the use of agricultural inputs i.e. fertilizers

Food security and Nutrition

Microcredit and microsavings have positive effects on food security and nutrition

Another way of thinking about the gaps in the current systematic review evidence base

Training Innovation & new tech.

Infrastructure Finance0123456

Investment Innovation Food securityIncome Yield/productivity

Interventions

Num

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of r

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3 stage review: ◦ 1) Review of reviews ◦ 2) Map of impact studies conducted in Africa ◦ 3) Focused synthesis

Our (pre)protocol for this map has just been peer reviewed through 3ie◦ We’re now re-focusing the scope of our map◦ And revising the framework◦ Currently searching and screening for impact studies

Map completed in July to inform decisions about where to focus our full synthesis (our 3rd stage)

Prepare full Campbell protocol Draft report of our full Campbell review will be ready in

early 2014

What next?

Thank you.Feel free to contact me if you have questions.hazelz@uj.ac.za +27 11 559 1909

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Bayala J, SileshiGW, Coe R, Kalinganire A, Tchoundjeu Z, Sinclair F, Garrity D (2012) Cereal yield response to conservation agriculture practices in drylands of West Africa: A quantitative synthesis. Journal of Arid Environments (78): 13-25.

Bennett M and Franzel S (2009) Can organic and resource-conserving agriculture improve livelihoods? A meta-analysis and conceptual framework for site-specific evaluation.ICRAF Occasional Paper No. 11. Nairobi: World Agroforestry Centre.

Berti RP, Krasevec J, FitzGerald F (2004) A review of the effectiveness of agriculture interventions in improving nutrition outcomes. Public Health Nutrition,7 (5): 599-609.

Cole S, Bastian G, Vyas S, Wendel C, Stein D (2012) The effectiveness of index based micro-insurance in helping smallholders manage weather-related risks. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London.

Duvendack M, Palmer-Jones R,Copestake JG, Hooper L, Loke Y, Rao N (2011) What is the evidence of the impact of microfinance on the well-being of poor people? London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London.

Gunaratna NS, De Groote H, Nestel P, Pixley KV, McCabe GP (2010) A meta-analysis of community-based studies on quality protein maize, Food Policy, (35): 202–210

Girard AW, Self JL, McAuliffe C, Oludea O (2012) The Effects of Household Food Production Strategies on the Health and Nutrition Outcomes of Women and Young Children: A Systematic Review. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology 26(Suppl. 1), 205–222.

List of included studies

Hall C, Knight B, Ringrose S, Knox O (2012) What have been the farm-level economic impacts of the global cultivation of GM crops?Systematic Review No.CEE 11-002.

IOB (2011) Improving food security.A systematic review of the impact of interventions in agricultural production, value chains, market regulation, and land security.IOB Study No 363.

Masset E, Haddad L, Cornelius A and Isaza-Castro J (2011) A systematic review of agricultural interventions that aim to improve nutritional status of children. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London.

Rusinamhodzi L, Corbeels M, van Wijk MT, Rufino MC, Nyamangara J and GillerKE (2011) A meta-analysis of long-term effects of conservation agriculture on maize grain yield under rain-fed conditions. Agronomy Sustainable Development, (31): 657–673.

Stewart R, van Rooyen C, Dickson K, Majoro M, de Wet T (2010) What is the impact of microfinance on poor people? A systematic review of evidence from sub-Saharan Africa. Technical report. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, University of London.

Stewart R, van Rooyen C, KorthM, Chereni A, Rebelo Da Silva N, de Wet T (2012) Do micro-credit, micro-savings and micro-leasing serve as effective financial inclusion interventions enabling poor people, and especially women, to engage in meaningful economic opportunities in low- and middle-income countries. A systematic review of the evidence. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London.

Waddington H,Snilstveit B, Hombrados J, Vojtkova M, White H (in press) Farmer Field Schools for improving farming practices and farmer outcomes in low and middle-income countries: a systematic review. Campbell Systematic Reviews.

List of included studies