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Abstract
This study, conducted in central Malawi, assessed the way a research intervention using an agricultural innovation system affected rural livelihoods. Propensity score matching was used to establish one village as a control, against which the impact of the intervention on two study villages [0]could be measured. Using the Enabling Rural Innovation intervention as a case study, it was established that rural livelihood outcomes pertaining to crop and livestock production, household income, asset ownership and fertiliser use were significantly improved by this intervention. In-depth analysis, however, demonstrated that although the participating households had more robust livelihoods during the intervention, when the research programme was phased out the effect was reduced. The authors recommend that local agricultural extension officers should receive more capacity building and budgetary support to ensure proper understanding of agricultural innovation systems concepts and correct application so as to sustain their positive effects.
Notes
1In Malawi both men and women keep pigs. However, because of the high labour, managerial and financial requirements, women are often unable to keep large numbers of pigs. The ERI intervention therefore used ‘gender facilitation’ to fully understand women's preferences, which involved separating men and women into different groups during the initial phase so that the women could speak freely. At the meetings, women said they also wanted pig farming to be the agro-enterprise chosen for the ERI intervention but were constrained by the factors stated here.
