Approach
Our project employs a participatory and systems-based approach to transform subsistence agriculture into sustainable and climate-resilient food systems. Building on the successes and lessons learned from the TISA project, we will work collaboratively with local communities, researchers, and stakeholders to co-design and implement interventions.
A core component of our methodology is the use of Agricultural Innovation Platforms (AIPs) within each target community. These platforms will bring together diverse stakeholders, including farmers, government officials, NGOs, and private sector actors, to identify challenges, share knowledge, and develop joint action plans. Through a participatory visioning process, co-create roadmaps for agricultural development will be developed, that align with local priorities and aspirations. With AIPs as the core, Figure 1 depicts the agricultural value chain processes and potential businesses.
Figure 1: Depiction of the proposed agricultural value chain processes and businesses in the CFS project.
The project would focus on the Agricultural Innovation Platform process, training and mentoring potential entrepreneurs, and helping to broker finance for new businesses.
To enhance the project's impact, we will employ a gender and youth-sensitive approach, ensuring that women and young people are actively involved in decision-making and benefit from project activities. We will conduct thorough gender and youth analyses to identify specific needs and constraints, and tailor interventions accordingly.
Data collection and monitoring will be central to the project's success. We will utilize a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative data to assess project outcomes and impacts. This will involve baseline surveys, regular monitoring, impact evaluations to measure changes in agricultural productivity, livelihoods, food security, and environmental sustainability.
A strong emphasis will be placed on knowledge management and learning. We will document project experiences, lessons learned, and best practices to inform future interventions and contribute to broader policy discussions. Additionally, we will facilitate South-South knowledge exchange and collaboration to promote replication and scaling up of successful approaches.
By combining these methodological elements, we aim to create a robust and effective project that delivers tangible benefits to rural communities while contributing to broader sustainable development goals.
Another way of depicting the CFS project is shown in Figure 2, which illustrates how the activities / inputs from use of soil moisture tools and AIPs, followed by training and mentoring of entrepreneurs and small business financing, is expected to generate significant outputs. We consider that these outputs of more productive natural resources use and community capacity for sustainable development will result on the bio-physical and socio-economic outcomes / impacts shown.
Figure 2. Expected outputs and outcomes / impacts resulting from CFS project activities / inputs.