Deployment of High Iron Beans technology in Zimbabwe: An outcome case study report. TAAT MEL working document no. 001

Abstract

The Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation ( TAAT ) is a program initiated by the African Development Bank (AfDB) as part of its Feed Africa Initiative. The main objective of the program is to improve the business of agriculture across Africa by raising agricultural productivity, mitigating risks, and promoting diversification and processing in 18 agricultural value chains within eight Priority Intervention Areas (PIA). The program is implemented by International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in close partnership with other CGIAR Centers and specialized technical centers (e.g. AATF, IFDC), FARA, national agricultural research, and extension systems, and private sector partners. TAAT is not a research program; it is an initiative to promote and disseminate high-performance food production technologies to millions of farmers in a commercially sustainable way through a network of people and institutions forming a Regional Technology Delivery Infrastructure (RTDI) within an enabling environment. It requires close partnership between the AfDB and other developmental partners such as the World Bank, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), United States of Agency for International Development (USAID), European Union (EU), Department for International Development (DFID) and others. The technical coordination of the program is provided by the TAAT Clearinghouse, a semi-autonomous unit in the program's management structure that is independent of IITA and its implementing partners. The Clearinghouse serves as an honest broker in the identification and assessment of proven technologies and products that are ready for widespread dissemination, as well as linking these technical opportunities to wider national development agendas. The TAAT Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) component is an integral part of program management. It plays an important role in project implementation as it helps stakeholders understand how the program is progressing and facilitates learning and feedback mechanisms. The MEL is designed to proactively provide management with pertinent information about how the program progress as well as generate new ideas which can direct the development of new initiatives. The TAAT MEL promotes accountability and transparency such that the results benefit a range of stakeholders including the donor (AfDB) and most importantly, the beneficiaries. The MEL can adapt to unexpected factors that may come up and can easily change the course of the program implementation if needed. The TAAT MEL also promotes ownership and supports the need for capacity development within implementing institutions to appreciate the need for and how it contributes to the sustainability by end of the program as a legacy. In this regard, in partnership with the High Iron Beans (HIB) Commodity Compact, the M&E Specialist supported by the Compact Coordinator and the Technology transfer Officer (TTO) in collaboration with partners conducted an Outcome Case study to assess the productivity improvement of HIB varieties deployed in Zimbabwe. The HIB Compact is implemented in eight countries (Burundi, DR Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe) and is led by the International Center of Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). The Compact is operational in Manicaland Province, Mashonaland Central and Midlands Province of Zimbabwe. For the purpose of this study, we focused on Manicaland (Nyanga, Mutasa, and Chimanimani), Mashonaland Central (Tsunda), and Midlands (Shurugwi and Gokwe). This document presents the results of a case study on the outcomes of promoting nutrient-rich (Iron and Zinc) bean varieties and good agricultural practices to improve productivity and returns for farmers in Zimbabwe. These technologies were disseminated under the High Iron Bean (HIB) Compact of the African Development Bank's (AfDB) Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) program implemented by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). The objective of the TAAT HIB Outcome Case Study (HIB-OCS) was to examine the outcome of productivity improvement reported by the TAAT HIB Compact, both planned and unplanned. The study strives to provide a summary through beneficiary feedback and onsite observations on successes/failures without statistically generalizing to a population of interest. It is intended that the results of the case study presented herein may be used to modify a generalization, including those related to causal inferences, and serve as a guide to future compact activities in TAAT. The study used both qualitative and quantitative data to determine the effects of program interventions on productivity improvement for HIB. It used triangulation through interviews (60 primary beneficiaries from 5 wards), focus group discussions consisting of approximately 12-14 participants, and field observations to corroborate the findings and reduce biases in the summary of findings, conclusions, and recommendations. Main results indicate that despite impacts of cyclone Idai, adoption of the improved varieties enhanced productivity on average to 1.08t/ha for NUA45, Sweet Violet 0.72t/ha, and Cherry 0.79t/ha from baseline yields of 0.6t/ha. These varieties offered high Returns on Investment to farmers by generating, on average, $8.35 for an average investment of $5.08 per farmer. Through the various interviews and ground-truthing site visits, products and services generated by the HIB Compact have tangible and are yielding positive results for framers who have a gained access to seed and knowledge of GAP and postharvest activities. It should also be noted that climate change adaptation coupled with good disaster preparedness is a major driver of HIB productivity improvement in fragile agro-ecological zones such as the north-eastern bean corridor in the Manicaland province of Zimbabwe considered, in ancient days, as the food basket of the country. Unfortunately, crippled by cyclone Idai in March 2019, almost a year since the cyclone had hit the region, women and youth are yet to recover from the aftermath of the cyclone while men have shown greater resilience. The HIB Compact intervention was timely and brought a renewed focus on improving household livelihoods. The empowerment of women and youth to climate change adaptation of beans cultivation contributes to sustainability where entire communities experience the benefits of bean farming. While no single community can be considered “representative” for assessing the impact of an innovation, it is evident that there is an impact on the ground.