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Sustainable Agriculture Indicators

FFP M&E Workshop
Aug 20-23/Aug 27-30, 2007

Philip Steffen EGAT/AG
Woody Navin EGAT/AG
Adam Reinhart EGAT/AG
USAID
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Outline
1. Conceptual Basis for Sustainable Agriculture
2. Define terms in the FFP sustainable agriculture indicators
3. Review the sustainable agriculture questions in the SAPQ
4. Examples of successful sustainable agriculture
interventions
5. Accessing Technical Assistance
6. Case Study Agriculture Program in Drylandique MYAP
7. Break-out Group Exercise
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1. Sustainable Agriculture
What is it?
We can discuss the properties of Agro-ecosystems
Conways three properties are:
Productivity
Stability
Resiliency

Source: Conway, G.R. and Barbier, E.B. 1990. After the Green Revolution. Sustainable
Agriculture for Development. Earthscan, London. 205 p.
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1. Productivity
Net increment of
valued product
per unit of
resource (kg/ha
for example)
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1. Stability
Degree to which
productivity
remains constant
over time when
not faced with a
shock (1/CV
productivity)
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1. Resiliency
The ability of a
system to
maintain or
recover
productivity
when subject to
stress or shock.
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2. Define terms in FFP sustainable agriculture indicators
Performance Indicator Reference Sheet (PIRS)
Producers
Producers harvest food, feed and fiber
Food includes grain, fruits and vegetables,
livestock, aquaculture, as well as natural products
Producers may also engage in processing and
marketing of food, feed and fiber
Producers may reside in settled communities,
refugee/IDP camps or be pastoralists
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2. Define terms in FFP sustainable agriculture indicators
Project-defined minimum
Projects will define a set of technologies appropriate
for the production systems in the program area
Projects will determine the minimum number of
those technologies targeted for adoption by program
beneficiaries
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2. Define terms in FFP sustainable agriculture indicators
Agricultural Technologies
Agriculture technologies refer to
The practices of combining of land, labor, capital,
and knowledge to
Produce, market, distribute, utilize, and trade food,
feed, and fiber
Some examples: planting in rows, rotation, integrated
farming systems, water conservation/harvesting,
cover cropping, etc.
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2. Define terms in FFP sustainable agriculture indicators
A sustainable agriculture system
Nurtures natural resources and maintains ecological
balance
Is driven by market demand and economically viable
Ensures local replicability, gender equity, and social
acceptability
Generates predictable income
Considers availability of household labor and
seasonality of labor demand
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2. Elements of Sustainability:
A Partial Checklist (a)
Consider agricultural activities best adapted to the
soils, slope and agro-ecological conditions
Consider sources of technical assistance,
technology, input supply and extension support
and farmer previous experience with the technology
Assess the level and source of market demand for
the product
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2. Elements of Sustainability:
A Partial Checklist (b)
Ensure community involvement in planning,
implementation, monitoring and evaluation for
ownership and understanding
Determine optimum scale of the activity
Evaluate policy, legal, customary and cultural
context to see that the activity fits
Keep it simple. Focus on priorities. Dont be overly
ambitious and consign those taking over to failure
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2. Elements of Sustainability:
A Partial Checklist (c)
1. Is the activity sustainable without continuous external
support?
2. An activity cannot be sustainable if it comes at a cost.
For example, it should not
Harm the environment
Destroy socio-economic relations
increase tensions and the potential for conflict
3. The activity should do no harm
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2. Elements of a Sustainable Livelihood
Livelihoods are sustainable when they:
Are resilient in the face of external shocks and stresses
Are not dependent upon external support
Maintain the long-term productivity of natural resources
Do not undermine the livelihoods of others or
compromise the livelihood options open to others

(Source: DFID)

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3. Sustainable Agriculture Questions in the Standardized
Annual Performance Questionnaire (SAPQ)

Number of farmers (individuals) that received
extension/outreach services during the FY
Number of sustainable agricultural technologies
being transferred
A list of those technologies
The minimum number of technologies that farmers
are expected to use
The percentage of beneficiaries (individual farmers)
who use that minimum number of technologies
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3. Sustainable Agriculture in the SAPQ (Part II)
Number of farmers (individuals) that received
extension/outreach services during the FY
Relatively straight forward
Disaggregate by gender (M/F)
Number of sustainable agricultural technologies
being transferred
Less straight forward, what is an agricultural technology?
Germplasm, fertilizer type or timing, row spacing?
Is a package one or more technologies?
Use your judgment, but make it logical and defendable, as
guidance from FFP is limited
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A list of those technologies
Very straightforward
The minimum number of technologies that farmers
are expected to use
How many of those technologies are required to meet
criteria for success?
The percentage of beneficiaries (individual farmers)
who use the minimum number of technologies
An indication of the success of your outreach program
3. Sustainable Agriculture in the SAPQ (Part III)
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4. Examples of Successful Sustainable Agriculture
Interventions: Tales from the Front
Amnagement en Courbes de Niveau (ACN)
Germplasm Collection, Evaluation and Improvement
of African Leafy Vegetables
Shea Butter: Producers in search of a Marketing Plan



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4.1 Amnagement en Courbes de Niveau (ACN)

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4.1 ACNs Benefits
Ridge Tillage in the Sahel of West Africa
Increased capture of rainfall
Reduced drought risk to crops
Increase productivity, stability and resiliency
Increased biodiversity
Spontaneous regeneration of three ecologically and
economically valuable tree species (Faidherbia albida (Acacia
albida)), Adansonia digitata (baobab) and Vitellaria paradoxa
(shea tree)
Increased drinking water supplies
Reduction in runoff due to ACN results in more recharge of
groundwater
Dry season vegetable gardens irrigated with groundwater are
now the norm (80%) in certain villages where 12 years ago
there were none
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ACNs Benefits in Action
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4.2 Germplasm Collection, Evaluation and
Improvement of African Leafy Vegetables

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4.2 African Leafy Vegetables
Established a germplasm collection in Africa for leafy
vegetables species - Brassica carinata (Ethiopian
mustard), Cleome gynandtopsis (spider plant) and
Solanum scabrum and S. villosum (nightshades)
Evaluating agronomic and nutritional traits of
hundreds of accessions and surveyed the indigenous
knowledge of the targeted species
Introduced best performing (most productive and
nutritious) accessions seeds into existing seed
marketing channels
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Accessions Trials
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4.3 Shea Butter: Producers in search of a Marketing Plan
Shea nuts from the
shea tree have many
multiple uses as an
edible fruit, edible
oil, body lotion, soap
and traditional
medicine
USAID-funded NGOs are working with womens groups in
Southern Sudan to process shea nuts into shea butter (the
basic raw material) as an income-generating activity
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4.3 Shea Butter: Producers in search of a Marketing Plan
These women's groups have mastered all the steps
to produce high-quality shea butter
But, production is seasonal (4 months) and sales
revenues are a fraction of NGO support
In short, these groups need help marketing
USAID/Sudan will ask the Agricultural Marketing
Enterprise Project to develop a market-oriented
business plan for the shea butter groups
Sustainability requires expanding the scope of the
original activity to make it commercially viable
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5. Accessing Technical Assistance (a)
The Collaborative Research Support Programs (CRSPs) -
http://crsps.org/
The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
(CGIAR) - http://www.cgiar.org/
John Snow International: Growing Positively Low Input
Gardening (~8MB)
http://www.jsieurope.org/docs/growing_positively_book.pdf
Environmental Guidelines for Small-Scale Activities in Africa :
http://www.encapafrica.org/egssaa.htm
CRSs The Resilient Family Farm:
http://styluspub.com/books/BookDetail.aspx?productID=93668
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5. Accessing Technical Assistance (b)
OFDAs Additional Program Description Requirements (APDRs):
http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/disaster
_assistance/resources/pdf/OFDA_Guidelines_Unsolicited_Propo
sals_Reporting.pdf
Performance Monitoring and Evaluation TIPS: Selecting
Performance Indicators
http://www.usaid.gov/pubs/usaid_eval/pdf_docs/pnaby214.pdf
The Seven Lessons of Doing No Harm
http://www.cdainc.com/dnh/the_seven_lessons.php
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6. Case Study of Agricultural Program
in Drylandique 2008-12 MYAP
The goal is to increase the resiliency of the population living in
the critical watershed of Ambo in Puno province
The proposed Agriculture and Economic Development
Component will use a three-prong approach to improve
livelihood productivity and sustainability by:
Augmenting productive capacity in key staple crops
Identifying profitable market opportunities and by linking
producers groups to the national and regional markets
Enhancing the ability of communities in the Ambo watershed
to restore and protect the ecological services it provides and
respond to cyclical shocks and natural disasters
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7. Group Exercise: Agricultural Program
in APT/Drylandique MYAP
Read APT/Drylandique MYAP handout
Focus on three-prong strategy of SO2 (IR2.2 and 2.3)
Discuss where in the strategy and proposed interventions
the sticking points of sustainability may be
Produce a short list of sticking points and possible
solutions
Report back to group

Take 25 minutes total