Exploring opportunities for scaling of sustainable intensification interventions through farmer engagement and positive deviance approach: A case for Basona Worena, Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, much like in several other African nations, the availability of food relies significantly on a large number of smallholder farmers. These farmers, confronted with various environmental obstacles, are experiencing substantial pressure to maintain and improve food production in order to ensure a stable food supply, particularly in light of the anticipated population growth across the continent.

Addressing problems associated with low productivity necessitates solutions tailored to specific locations. This requires comprehensive local studies to pinpoint interventions, techniques, and practices that are most suitable for achieving sustainable production intensification.

Within the framework of the MFS initiative, Ethiopia, and particularly the Ethiopian Highlands, emerges as a region where comprehensive research was conducted and executed as part of the Africa RISING initiative. While Africa RISING primarily focused on disseminating potential interventions within the realm of Sustainable Intensification, this thesis focuses on exploring methodologies and tools designed for scaling innovations. The aim was to facilitate the widespread adoption of these innovations by a larger number of farmers, extending beyond the Ethiopian Highlands to encompass other regions and countries involved in the MFS initiative.

The chosen research site for this study was the Basona Worena district, characterized by low-productivity mixed farming systems, limited diversification, challenges in adopting sustainable intensification interventions, low soil quality, restricted use of crop diversity strategies, low staple crop yields, and limited off-farm income.

The main emphasis of this thesis was to tackle the following aspects: After assessing the performances of different farms in the areas of Goshe Bado and Gudo Beret, those farmers who were considered as outperforming (having a better performance for multiple indicators, referred to as positive deviants) were singled out for an in-depth study and analysis. Positive deviants are farmers who, despite having similar endowments, resource sets, and starting points as their fellow farmers, manage to achieve better results. The objective was to identify these farmers, explore the innovations they adopt, and conduct interviews with them to serve as a foundation for farm modelling, utilizing the FarmDESIGN model to comprehend the performance of exemplary farms in contrast to sub-optimal dominated systems when subjected to farm system modelling.

Furthermore, a serious game was developed and played within a participatory and community context. The intention was to assess whether this tool could potentially facilitate discussions and the implementation of Sustainable Intensification (SI) interventions, thus offering concrete benefits for scaling.