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Thematic Area: Farmer Innovation

  • Compost from Millet and Fonio Crop Residues

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    This innovation involves producing compost using millet and fonio crop residues combined with organic activators. It provides a low-cost alternative to mineral fertilizers, improving soil fertility, increasing fonio yields by up to 46%, and supporting sustainable agriculture practices in Mali. The method enhances degraded soils while boosting productivity and farmer income, especially for women producers.…

  • Dougouyiriwa Dual-Purpose Sorghum Variety

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    Dougouyiriwa is an open-pollinated dual-purpose sorghum variety developed in Mali that provides both grain for human consumption and high-quality forage for livestock. It improves food and fodder security, enhances resilience to drought, and contributes to better soil fertility through increased manure availability. The variety is rich in micronutrients and adapted to Sudano-Sahelian conditions, offering higher…

  • Sorghum and Cowpea Dual-Purpose System for Sustainable Crop-Livestock Integration

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    This project promotes the diversification of legumes (cowpea, groundnut, soybean, mungbean) combined with dual-purpose sorghum to produce both human food and animal feed. It enhances soil fertility, optimizes resource use, and increases farmers’ income while strengthening crop-livestock integration in Mali. The approach includes intercropping, crop rotation, and organic-mineral fertilization, with demonstrated impacts on yields, biomass…

  • From Invisible Diversity to Targeted Interventions: A Gendered Participatory Diagnostic for Climate Resilience in Niger

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    This project develops a participatory and gender-sensitive diagnostic tool (DATAR) to document and analyze intraspecific agrobiodiversity (local crop varieties and animal breeds) in Niger and Bolivia. It highlights the importance of farmer-managed diversity for climate adaptation, reveals hidden gendered knowledge (especially among women), and produces standardized, comparable data to inform targeted agroecological interventions and seed…

  • Municipal Cells of AMSP-Burkina: Local Governance and Learning Platform

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    This document presents the creation of municipal cells by AMSP-Burkina as local platforms bringing together farmers, processors, and value chain actors. These cells enhance coordination, peer learning, and collective action in rural areas, improving access to innovations, seed distribution, and capacity building. The initiative strengthens local governance, supports agricultural experimentation, and fosters collaboration with research…

  • Endogenous Data Collection Network (RECD)

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    A community-based monitoring and evaluation system where trained local farmers use smartphones and digital tools (KoboCollect, KoboToolbox) to collect agronomic, nutritional, and socio-economic data in insecure or hard-to-reach areas. The initiative enhances data reliability, local autonomy, and resilience while enabling real-time scientific tracking of agroecological practices. Organisation: Consortium Groundswell International (GI), ANSD, AMSP, INERA Author: INERA /…

  • Niobougouma Dual-Purpose Sorghum Variety

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    Niobougouma is an open-pollinated dual-purpose sorghum variety co-developed by research institutions and farmer organizations in Mali. It provides both grain for human consumption and high-quality fodder for livestock, improving food security, livestock feeding, and resilience to drought. The variety enhances agricultural productivity and supports integration between crop and livestock systems. Organisation: IER / ICRISAT / Farmer…

  • Yebagasago Dual-Purpose Sorghum Variety

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    Yebagasago is a hybrid dual-purpose sorghum variety developed in Mali that produces both grain for human consumption and high-quality forage for livestock. It improves agricultural productivity, enhances resilience to drought, and helps address food and feed shortages while supporting integrated crop-livestock systems. Organisation: IER / ICRISAT / McKnight Foundation / Farmer Organizations Author: Karim Dagno; Assitan Daou…

  • Dual-purpose sorghum and legume residues for livestock feeding in Mali

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    This project evaluates the use of sorghum straw combined with cowpea and groundnut residues as an alternative livestock feed during the dry season in Mali. Through feeding trials on sheep, it demonstrates that legume residues can partially replace wheat bran without reducing animal performance, thereby lowering feeding costs and improving resource use efficiency. Organisation: IER /…

  • Urgent Need to Regulate the Organic Fertilizer Market in Burkina Faso

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    This policy brief presents findings from a field study conducted in Ouagadougou on the market for organic fertilizers and bioinputs. It highlights major issues such as poor product quality, discrepancies between declared and actual nutrient content, weak regulatory enforcement, and low adoption rates among farmers. The document proposes policy actions including stronger quality control, regulatory…