Socio-Economic Viability

Documenting and evaluating the socio-economic viability of agroecological practices across Africa

Will agroecological transformation add up for Africa’s farmers? Agroecological practices such as composting crop residues, integrating crops and livestock, and conservation agriculture, show significant promise as a way to sustainably increase productivity in sub-Saharan Africa. However, despite some early success stories, there’s still skepticism about the potential of agroecology to transform African agriculture at scale. This is partly due to a lack of comprehensive assessments of the socio-economic performance of agroecological farming systems in terms of food security and income, and concerns that such practices are highly labor-intensive. There are also questions about access to the knowledge, resources and markets required to make such a transition successful. Supported by

Project Scope

The study will focus on the field-to-farm and household scales; value-chain and regional-scale assessments are beyond its scope, although connections with other work at these scales will be welcome.

Aim

This project aims to better understand the socio-economic viability of agroecological practices, and their livelihood system impacts across various environments and demographics in Africa. This holistic evaluation will include:

Assessment of the labor required

Income and food security outcomes

Household levers and lock-ins for agroecogical practices

Economic value of ecosystem services and disservices

Modality

The research will be conducted over a three-year timeframe, using the three-step process below: The results will be disseminated widely, including through scientific publications, policy briefs and events.

Case Studies

Twelve case studies have been selected in a range of agroecological zones across Africa where partners already have active agroecology programs in place.