N2Africa was recently selected as case study within a project called PROIntensAfrica. PROIntensAfrica aims to build a long-term research and innovation partnership between Africa and the European Union, focusing on the improvement of food and nutrition security. The project has a large number of partners in Europe (including Wageningen University and CIRAD), and in Africa (including FARA, CORAF, CCARDESA, ASARECA).
As part of this project, different approaches for sustainable intensification will be studied through a literature review and a number of case studies. With N2Africa’s selection as case study in this project we have the opportunity to take a closer look at N2Africa’s impact on different sustainability indicators (environmental, social and economic), and on a range of different stakeholders (farmers, research, NGO partners, government, etc.)
The case study will be coordinated from Wageningen and will run in the period between October 2015 and March 2016. Next to some desk research on potential indicators for sustainable intensification and a review of existing project documents on how N2Africa performs on such indicators, there will be room for additional data collection on indicators that have not been measured yet. The case study will conclude with a workshop where a wide selection of stakeholders will be invited to reflect on the outcomes of the study and the perceived impact of the project. A selection of countries and/or specific topics for the case study will still have to be made. There are interesting examples from all corners of the project, but at least the case study should show a minimum of 2-3 years ‘on the ground effects’.
We are sure that this will be a great opportunity to profile N2Africa among a wider group of stakeholders, and to dive deeper into the impact created by the project. We will keep you updated!
Esther Ronner, Ken Giller