Farm- and field-level management practices represent a core component of most CSA interventions. Regional and national policies are constructed around them (e.g., Tanzania CSA Plan 2016-2025, Zambia CSA Plan), investments are structured to catalyze adoption of them (e.g., Government of Kenya and World Bank Climate-Smart Agriculture Program) and even supportive climate-smart services such as index-based insurance create differentiated products depending on the practices used such as improved seeds (e.g. F3Life). Thus, it is imperative that program developers and implementors have the best information available to design efficient and effective policies, programs and products.
Management practices and technologies represent a broad category of direct activities farmers and ranchers can undertake on their farms. Climate-smart actions might include anything from adopting drought resistant crop varieties, to reducing stocking rates of animals, to changing harvesting and postharvest storage techniques. The vast number of options available coupled with the diverse number of possible results create challenges in selecting what management practices and technologies will work where.
There is strong demand for data on the benefits, costs and risks of CSA investments, and also for understanding the evidence base for CSA at the field level. To fill this need, P4S developed ERA - Evidence for Resilient Agriculture - the largest metadata exercise in agricultural science ever created. ERA systematizes existing knowledge on CSA and makes it readily available for decision-makers.
ERA is the largest meta-data exercise attempted in agricultural science. Our review team assessed more than 145,000 peer-reviewed papers and identified approximately 7,000 that met our criteria for inclusion in ERA. This database compiles empirical evidence for the impact agricultural interventions have on productivity, resilience and mitigation. It assesses more than 100 agricultural practices (such as alley cropping and improved feeding of livestock) and more than 40 indicators of CSA outcomes (including gross margin, resource use efficiency and nitrous oxide emissions).
ERA features an interactive dashboard (now in beta version) that makes the information readily accessible to decision-makers. Implementing agencies (such as GIZ, USDA) and civil society actors working directly with farmers have expressed interest in using such data to help make decisions on CSA initiatives. Donors and national governments, including the World Bank and the governments of Tanzania and Ivory Coast, are keen on using ERA to guide the selection of cost-effective investments and policies. NGOs (including One Acre Fund in Kenya) believe it could help reduce the time required to bring new services and innovations to farmers. Researchers are interested in using the data to set research priorities. Lastly, insurance intermediaries suggest that ERA could facilitate the development of new insurance products that are more affordable and thus could be more widely adopted.
In P4S Phase II, we seek to construct an information system, based on ERA, to deliver easy-to-use information to decision-makers. This analytical engine will significantly expand on the successes and scope of ERA, moving the data into the decision-making arena. The ultimate effect will be agricultural decisions based on the best science, leading to better value for money and improved outcomes for livelihoods and landscapes.
Photo: INERA’s staff have preserved the herbarium’s botanical collection despite difficult conditions. Credit: Axel Fassio (CIFOR).