Value proposition for systems research

• Integrated Systems Research develops and tests, with farming households and development partners, feasible combinations of technical, market, governance and policy options capable of improving agricultural livelihood systems.

• The research improves the understanding of place-based social, financial, technical and environmental contexts providing a knowledge resource to enhance the targeting and relevance of potential systems interventions with an aim to scale these out to similar extrapolation domains.

Value proposition for systems research

• The focus is on total farm productivity including closing systems’ yield gaps of systems components with greatest relevance to small holder farmers.

• A fully integrated systems approach also requires further development of monitoring and evaluation systems with indicators that that can show whether systems approaches are working, for whom, where, to what extent and how fast enough to support adaptive management and donors’ needs.

Value proposition for systems research

• Systems research strengthens the science-policy interface that has prevented governments and international bodies from delivering changes on the ground to rural people. A fully integrated systems approach identifies diversified opportunities for the agricultural sector that can reverse the lack of investment in rural areas.

• New science is being applied in systems research on how to cope with wicked problems, productivity trade-offs and synergies, climate change, land degradation, gender inequities, and youth unemployment at the expected scale of impact; that is, with millions of farmers across millions of hectares

Value proposition for systems research

Systems research will directly improve the effectiveness of development spending at local scales, at the same time producing generalizable knowledge, and forging new partnerships to improve livelihood systems. Research on foresight, synergies, trade-offs, etc., are core components that help prioritize interventions and predict possible early successes.

Future directions for systems research

Refine indicators for TFP, capacity to innovate, market integration, sustainable intensification and resilience

Develop a guide for undertaking systems research with methods toolbox.

Accelerate cross-CRP learning in key areas of science –gender, systems approaches, capacity to innovate

Focus more on institutional arrangements for conducting systems research, “getting into the system”, working more together, forming inter-disciplinary teams

Future directions for systems research

Inventory of intervention options across CRPs

Engage with higher level organizations such as CADDP, COMESA, UNCCD, development programs/projects in order to achieve impact at scale

Build capacity for systems research in NARS and within the CGIAR

Cross-cuttin

g

issues: Ge nder and y outh, Climate change, Policies and institu t ions , Capac i ty de velopment

Reduced povertyImproved food and

nutrition

secur i ty f or health Improved natural resource systems

and ecosystem services

Improved human and animal health

through better agricultural

practice

s

Improved water quality

Reduced livestock and fis

h di seas e

risks associated with intensification and climate change

Improved input effic

iency and safety

SLO

sIDOs

Sub-IDOs

Natural capital enhanced

and protected, especially from climate change

Land, water and forest degradatio

n

minimized and

reversed

Enhanced conservation

of habitats and resources

Increased genetic di ver si ty of agricultural and associated

landscapes

Increased productiv

i

ty

Reduced pre- and post-harvest losses,

including those caused by climate

change

Improved agronomic and

animal husbandry practices

Enhanced genetic gain

Increased conservation and

use of genetic resources

Increased access to productiv

e as se ts,

including natural resources

Increased resilience of the poor to climate

change and other shocks

Increased household coping

capacity

Reduced productio

n

ri sk

Enhanced smallholder

market access

Improved access to fin

anci al and

other services

Reduced barriers to access

Increased incomes and employment

Diversifie

d

enterprise

opportunitie

s

Increased livelihood

opportunitie

s

Increased value capture by producers

More effici en t use of inputs

Improved diets for poor and

vulnerable people

Increased availability of

diverse nutrient-rich foods

Optim

i

z ed consumption of diverse nutrient-

rich foods

Increased access to diverse nutrient-

rich foods

More sustainably managed agro-

ecosystems

Increased resilience of agro-ecosystems and communitie

s

More effici en t use of agricultural resources by smallholders

Reduced greenhouse gas emissions from

agro-ecosystems

Enhanced adaptive capacity to climate

risks

Improved food

safety

Reduced biological and chemical

hazards in food and water

Enhanced regulatory

environment for food safety

Our vision: A world free of hunger, poverty and environmental degradation

Our mission:To advance agri-food science and innovation t o enable poor people, especially poor women, to enjoy increased agricultural productivi ty , share in economic growth, feed themselves and their families better and conserve natural resources in the face of climate change and other threats

Enhanced benefits from ecosystem

goods and services

More productiv

e

and equitable

management of natural resources

Agricultural systems diversifie

d

and intensifie

d in

ways that protect soils and water

Enrichment of plant and animal biodiversity for

multipl

e goods and services

Increased above- and below-ground

biomass