Limits to the applicability of the innovation platform approach for agricultural development in West Africa: Socio-economic factors constrain stakeholder engagement and confidence

Abstract

Integrated Agricultural Research for Development (IAR4D) is a mode of participatory action research for development that aims to improve the well-being of smallholder farming households by facilitating networks between farmers and marketplace actors through groups called ‘innovation platforms’. In 2012, the Association for the Promotion of Livestock in the Sahel and Savannas (APESS, an NGO with rural membership) established nine innovation platforms in the Sahelian zone in Senegal, Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Chad, with the aim of engaging member livestock producers with meat and milk processors and traders. In late 2013 and early 2014, each innovation platform reviewed its perception of “performance” or “functionality”, using a consensus-based group assessment scored against nine criteria. The aim of this study is to test the extent to which perceived functionality was related to the activities of the innovation platform, as well as current farm productivity and profitability, household well-being, and regional context, using data gathered independently by APESS as part of its broader mandate to improve the lives of members.Across the nine innovation platforms, there were strong positive correlations between the responses to all self-assessment criteria i.e. members perceived that their innovation platform was performing strongly or weakly in all respects. The criterion scores were correlated positively with the number of meetings held, but not with numbers or gender of attendees, training opportunities, nor actions agreed at meetings. Innovation platforms self-assessed more positively in southern, higher rainfall regions than in the northern, lower rainfall regions. Performance was positively correlated with many measures of farm productivity and household well-being, including median area of farms, value of crop and hay production, sales of animals or animal products, expenditure on agricultural inputs, current engagement with markets, and estimated number of months per year that the family is able to feed itself.We conclude that the IAR4D approach is perceived to work well in high rainfall zones, for smallholders with a relatively high current level of well-being, who have larger and more productive farms, and who are already engaged with markets. The approach does not appear to work well in more arid regions for poorer smallholders, who are often not able to provide food for their families for 12months of every year. The IAR4D focus on social networking into markets appears to be relevant for producers who wish to strengthen or diversify existing market relationships, but is not perceived to be sufficiently relevant by smallholders for whom achieving reliable subsistence and averting starvation remains the priority.