The influence of multilevel innovation platforms on continuing utilization of smallholders’ livestock feeding practices

ABSTRACT

Agricultural research for development agencies in sub-Saharan Africa increasingly implements innovation platforms (IPs) to address institutional barriers to innovation in smallholder agriculture. This research aims to understand the activities, actions or arrangements that were mediated by a multilevel set of IPs to sustain the use of livestock feeding practices in the Ethiopian Highlands. Data was collected two years after the multilevel IPs had been phased out to ascertain if innovation outcomes had been sustained beyond the life of the project. The study identified specific IP interventions that constrained or enabled sustained use of the livestock innovations among two groups of smallholders based on their livestock production objective, i.e., commercially oriented or subsistence. Where the feed innovations had been tailored to specific enterprises and aligned to farmers’ production goals, such as improved dairy farming, they were sustained. Transitioning to a livestock feed system was enabled in the case of commercially oriented smallholders and remained a challenge for subsistence-oriented smallholders, especially where access to forage seeds and affordable input services is limited. Finally mechanisms and strategies to inform similar future interventions to support the development of different groups of farmers along the value chain to achieve impact beyond project period are presented.

KEYWORDS:

• innovation platforms
• value chain
• smallholder
• feed innovation
• Ethiopia

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 CGIAR – Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research.

2 Soil bunds are constructed on the farm to slow down the runoff from erosion to conserve soil and water.

3 Desho grass was not introduced, but rather promoted through the multilevel IPs in Lemo.

4 Government established Farmer Training Centres, which are managed by Development Agents in each kebele with the aim to improve the reach and effectiveness of agricultural extension and farmers inclusion in technology development.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by International Livestock Research Institute Ethiopia; University of New England Australia.