CGIAR Research Program on Grain Legumes: Extension proposal

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2 CGIAR Research Program on Grain Legumes: Extension proposal Introduction This proposal for the extension of the Grain Legume CRP begins with reflections on the expected outcomes (IDOs) which are the contribution of the CRP to the System level Outcomes. This is justified given the special social role that grain legumes play. These development outcomes in turn are supported by the Theory of Change and Impact Pathways that must be in place for grain legumes to fulfil their unique potential. These IDOs were established in 2013 and we look critically on how we can address them and monitor progress and our strategy towards achieving them. Finally, we address the outputs and the respective activities that bring science to bear on the food security, nutritional and social needs of the poor. Intermediate development outcomes (IDOs), Theories of Change (ToCs) and Impact Pathways (IPs): The CGIAR Research Program on Grain Legumes espouses five Intermediate Development Outcomes (IDOs) that contribute to the four System Level Outcomes: The contribution of the CRP to these IDOs is uneven, and dominated by the contribution to IDO4, which indirectly contributes to IDO1, IDO2, IDO3 and IDO5 because (i) food security and nutrition are, in part, dependent on the availability of grain legumes (for which demand outstrips supply in most regions); (ii) grain legume crops being high value crops are a source of income provided that they are productive; and (iii) increased productivity and intensification are the context for IDO5, but here grain legumes have a positive environmental effect, contributing to soil fertility. The nutritional impact of Grain Legumes - are generally nutritious with abundant protein (iv) contributes to IDO3, but largely through increased production, activities relate to maintaining quality under constraint and there is some work on micro nutrients (Fe and Zn), and these link to CRP A4NH. Theory of Change Most of the measurable outputs of Grain Legumes are seed-based and therefore have commonalities in their development and dissemination. Historically, seed-based technologies have been relatively easy to transfer to and to be adopted by farmers, with many farmers anxious to experiment with new varieties or hybrids. Exceptions to this route are Flagship Project (FP) 1 that deals mainly with the biological issues not dependent on plant genetics and that is not necessarily delivered through seed based technology. FP1 will produce significant Integrated Pest Management outputs that will include natural enemies of pests, but this will be complemented by host plant resistance components delivered through the trait delivery pipeline of FPs 2, 3 and 4. On the other hand, most seed-based approaches will act synergistically with a crop/pest/disease management component, and will also be strengthened by increased market participation that in turn motivates investment in inputs. Similarly our activities on improved biological nitrogen fixation will include the 1 of 32

3 generation of new inoculants (where the N2Africa project is not active) as well as the generation of new varieties. Underlying these interventions is the theory of change strategy of Inclusive Market Oriented Development or IMOD ( Legumes.cgiar.org/how-we-do-it/impact-pathways/) as a framework for priority setting and monitoring within the programme. This seeks to identify targets for intervention, and to assess the performance of activities with respect to the aim of improving the livelihood of smallholder farmers as well as the urban and rural poor. IMOD highlights value returned to smallholder farmers through agriculture and diversification, for which legumes are well suited given their high market value, their ability to fit into production niches, and their multiplicity of uses from leafy vegetables, immature grain, mature grain or fodder. While the technologies we are developing have in mind resource poor farmers with small areas of land to cultivate, we realise that societal changes may have a radical effect on the way that agriculture is conducted over the next 50 years. This approach is itself under review in order to identify good metrics with which to assess our priority setting, monitoring and evaluation in phase 2. However, we are confident that whatever approach is taken, the crops we are targeting will remain an essential component of farming systems and that enhanced capacity to tolerate the main constraints we have identified will remain valid research priorities. Our IDOs, targets and related assumptions are provided in Annex 1. These targets were developed prior to the emphasis on common IDOs and also the reorganisation of the CRP according to Flagship Projects. As the CGIAR drives toward more specific metrics that lead to IDOs, we will refine our own metrics and assure that we are well positioned to use them for M&E and strategy development. Accordingly in the extension phase we will address some concerns regarding the targets and measures within Cross-Cutting area 1 (CC1). Specifically these are: IDO1 Food Security: Improved and stable access to grain legumes by urban and rural poor We have relatively few targets for this IDO, and these tend to be expressed in the same terms as our targets for productivity (hectares; numbers of households). We need to determine whether these should be amalgamated or whether new measures are required. The IDO refers to access. This implies per capita availability in the market on the one hand, and/or economic capacity to purchase on the other as a function of price, both are strongly influenced by productivity. To address IDO adequately requires further investment in the development a baseline of access to show how, whether or to what degree this improved; in turn this requires the development of appropriate metrics. IDO2 Income: Increased and more equitable income from grain legumes by low income value chain actors, especially women We have a wide array of indicators for this IDO and these need to be consolidated. The percentage increase per beneficiary (men, women, households) seems the most appropriate measure, but again good baseline data needs to be established and benchmarked. IDO3 Nutrition & Health: Increased consumption of healthy grain legumes and products by the poor for a more balanced and nutritious diet, especially among nutritionally vulnerable women and children Grain legumes are generally nutritious with abundant protein. The relatively high lysine content of legumes complements the amino acid profile in cereals such that each gram of legume protein potentiates another gram of cereal protein. Oil-rich soybean and groundnut have a complementary 2 of 32

4 effect on absorption of oil-soluble vitamins. Moreover, grain legumes are also a source of fibre, minerals and folate and contain a diversity of bioactive compounds. Currently legumes and especially chickpea 1, common bean, groundnut 2 and lentil are attracting attention 3 for reducing risk of the so-called non-communicable or chronic diseases (diabetes, cardio-vascular, and certain types of cancer 4 ), in part due to their slowly digestible starch. Partners and notably the Legume Innovation Laboratory and Peanut and Mycotoxin Innovation Laboratory maintain a research commitment on health benefits of legume consumption. These issues are important to Grain Legumes given the increasing levels of chronic disease, especially diabetes, in the developing world, and as component of the message that we convey to policy makers. While improved nutritional quality is not a primary goal of this CRP, work on genetic enhancement of nutritional value focused on improving the iron and zinc concentration in bean and lentil, within CRP Agriculture for Nutrition and Health under HarvestPlus is closely aligned to Grain Legumes. Aflatoxins are a common issue for both the GL CRP and for A4NH, and approaches are complementary. While the benefits of legumes in relation to nutrition and health are wide ranging, we are not in a position to assume metrics of health per se. For IDO3 we use per capita consumption as our metric, assuming that the multiple benefits from eating legumes must start with greater consumption. This indicator requires household survey data to show that (especially) women and children are in fact consuming legumes, and this needs to be measured with respect to a baseline. IDO4 Productivity: Improved productivity of farming systems, especially among smallholder farmers This is the centre of gravity of the CRP and the other IDOs depend largely on improved productivity either directly or indirectly. Conceptually this is very simple but the complexity lies in obtaining reliable data of the real situation among users of technology. Currently we rely on FAO data for these measures, but we know there are some difficulties with these data (for example bean is not used consistently) so we need to establish independently verified baseline data in the extension phase. This is the centre of gravity of the CRP and the other IDOs depend largely on improved productivity either directly or indirectly. Currently we rely on FAO data for these measures, but we know there are some difficulties with these data (for example bean is not used consistently) so these need to be validated in some way, and we need to establish independently verified baseline data in the extension phase. IDO5 Environment: Minimized adverse environmental effects of increased production and intensification of grain legumes Here our indicators focus on nitrogen or organic matter which are closely related but not the same. Reduced pesticide use is also a target but baseline data is needed. The Product Line 7 Labour saving traits includes the use of herbicides for weed control, so this needs to be monitored. Impact Pathways IDOs are somewhat remote from research activities; the lag time between action and outcome means that these serve for broad direction setting and post hoc assessment of impact. For project management more immediate measures are needed, and to this end targets were developed when 1 Jukanti et al (2012) Brit J Nutr. 108: S11 S26 2 Bao et al (2013) N Engl J Med 369: Bennett et al. (2009). Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 41: S74, Aune et al (2009) Cancer Causes Control. 20: ; Clemente et al (2011) Curr. Prot. Pep. Sci. 12, of 32

5 the proposal was submitted and these are presented in the document describing the program and dated 15 Aug 2012 ( and in Annex 1. These measures are also often remote and dependent on many external factors. For this reason we need to develop impact pathways at the level of individual output targets as this will enable us to monitor progress towards our outcomes. Two examples are given below: The process of defining these output delivery pathways for each output target is not yet complete, but will be completed before the beginning of the extension Phase and integrated with our Monitoring and Evaluation system. The purpose of this exercise is to define operational metrics that relate our project management to the broader impact pathway. 4 of 32

6 Flagship projects The CRP on Grain legumes was defined by the description document agreed in August 2012, although it had a formal start date of January The structure of the program matured with the appointment of the Research Management Committee a year later. It is therefore too early for Grain Legumes to institute radical change. The Output Targets identified in the 2014 Plan of Work and Budget (POWB) are mostly deliverable after 2016, so these remain the basis of, and identify, the activities we will undertake. Nevertheless the extension proposal provides an opportunity for Grain Legumes to implement some changes that respond to the needs of the program in terms of our gender strategy, the implementation of results based management and the processes needed to undertake the considerations and consultations required for the phase two proposal. The main changes we propose are as follows: 1) We will restructure the management of the program by including women and disciplines other than biological sciences in the RMC. (see also Gender below) 2) We will redirect a portion of our funding on the basis of a competitive grants scheme, allowing us to build in flexibility, rigor and management for results. (see also Budget) 3) We will institute a studentship program, in part allied to the USAID-funded Feed the Future Laboratories (see also Phased Work plan). 4) We will regroup our activity clusters thematically in a way that has a clearer relationship to our Intermediate Development Outcomes, while preserving the Product Line focus in terms of outputs. The realignment of the CRP according to Flagships rather than Product Lines places our most important outputs into the context of the R4D process leading to IDOs, rather than emphasizing the specific technical innovations. Product Lines remain intact, and run through the FPs provide the outcome focus in this process perspective. The Flagship Projects 1 to 5 identify the crop interactions with biotic and abiotic constraints (FP1), the trait discovery and deployment pipeline (FP2 and FP3), the seed systems required for their adoption, and markets that produce income (FP4), capacity (FP5) that act together with the assessment of impact, redefining priorities and assessing gender components of priorities and activities (CC1). A new Cross-cutting area, CC2, that we intend to develop concerns high throughput genotyping and associated bioinformatics. These are summarised below but a more detailed description relating output targets to these Flagship Projects and the Product Lines is given in Annex 2 FP1 Managing productivity concerns the crop interactions with organisms and the environment. Crop biotic interactions include beneficial and detrimental relationships, and some of these biotic relationships act synergistically with abiotic constraints. Insect pests are a major constraint on legume production and have been largely intractable genetically, notably in the case of polyphagous insects in the genera Helicoverpa and Maruca. Management practices that include rearing and deployment of parasitoids and/or the use of biopesticides are an opportunity that could have a major impact independent of the availability of sources of genetic resistance or tolerance. This corresponds to our Product Line 5 (PL5) on integrated pest management. Crops have associations with a range of microbes, some are pathogens but others promote growth either directly (eg Rhizobium) or indirectly by competing with pathogens or negatively impacting on pests (eg certain actinomycetes and/or stimulate plant growth - Azospirillum spp). These organisms and their management are therefore significant levers in managing the performance of grain legume crops. Some of these crop-microbe interactions are also impacted by the environment, for example N fixation is modulated by phosphorous availability, water and temperature as well as plant maturity. Studies on N fixation (PL4) are allied to the BMGF N2Africa project where this is active. 5 of 32

7 There are major uncertainties associated with projected climate change with some areas projected as becoming wetter and others drier, but overall an increase in temperature is likely to be a general concern. Elevated temperature (especially night time temperature) can have a major impact on plant fertility (ie seed set) so understanding the mechanisms underlying existing variation in temperature sensitivity of yield is needed in order to combine mechanisms and strategies. Moreover, temperature changes also modify agroecologies especially microclimate, and can favour an increase in pathogen and pest reproductive fitness leading to rapid build-up of populations and consequently disease and pest outbreaks. The abiotic consequences of climate change affect pests and pathogens as well as our target crops, so this also has a consequence for crop responses to and challenges by biotic stress. FP2 Trait determination characterises available genetic variation for those traits characterised as game changer traits in the analysis presented in the project document as agreed in August These traits defined several of our Product Lines that deal directly with breeding for specific characters (PLs 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8), and they continue to direct major strands of activity along the trait delivery pipeline of FP2, 3 and 4. In the present formulation of the program the additional necessary components of successful varieties (market acceptability, foliar disease resistance) are more clearly a component of the activities within the Flagship Projects although subordinate to the object of these Product Lines (which could be designated Flagship Products). This FP includes the definition of genetic and molecular mechanisms of the trait determination. FP3 Trait deployment takes the genetic variation obtained in FP2 and combines this with other useful traits using integrated breeding approaches by deploying tools, technologies and platforms from CC2. These novel breeding tools and methods will be used to enhance efficiency and precision of breeding process. The lines and genotypes generated will be made available to breeders to adapt these to local, national and agroecological conditions as well as market needs. In some countries we take varieties beyond the pre-breeding stage and even in countries with active breeding programs the provision of finished lines is often welcome. The point at which the CRP finishes breeding activities and delivers material to the NARS is responsive to the needs of the partnership. The adoption of improved varieties developed through the efforts of FP3 will be enhanced by strengthening the seed systems in FP4. FP4 Seed systems, post-harvest processing, markets and nutrition acts after the generation of useful varieties, minimising post-harvest losses (eg from bruchid damage) while maintaining or exploiting market acceptability (eg seed colour & pattern in common bean and lentil) and also maintaining nutritional value (eg micronutrient availability in coordination with CRP A4NH) and taking advantage of processing opportunities such as the use of immature chickpea seeds for their nutritional and culinary value as well as their advantage as short duration crops. All of these conditions must be met in association with an effective seed recognition, production, and distribution system with associated standards, and FP4 seeks to maintain or establish these systems and give farmers grounds for confidence in the distribution method. It is at the level of the FP4 that IDO targets begin to emerge. Markets are the source of income. Monitoring of seed distribution offers an estimate of area covered with new varieties. Nutritional impacts have their first indicator in data on consumption. Thus FP4 has a special significance in the monitoring of our success. FP5 Capacity Building and Partnerships operates in a variety of modes; at the most direct it interacts with farmers in the demonstration of agricultural practices (eg Integrated Crop Management) or the 6 of 32

8 selection of appropriate varieties for cultivation (Participatory Varietal Selection). The activities of this FP catalyse adoption by tapping into local knowledge to enhance adoption and improve targeting of research outputs, and we do this through strategic partnerships with varied stakeholders involving innovation platforms facilitated by national partners. The program also engages in strengthening through training activities for extension workers, breeders, technicians and seed producers, and is also engaged in training researchers within the program from early post graduate training (MSc PhD) to specialist training for experienced researchers. Virtual and distance learning platforms harnessing new ICT tools will be explored and implemented for cost effective learning process. Cross Cutting Area 1 (CC1) is like a Flagship Project but is internally directed, it engages in reviews of progress such as impact assessment and draws lessons from these that can update our research priorities. This includes gender analytical research that indicates those areas where interventions may have the most significant gender disaggregated differential effect and so allows us to prioritise certain areas of work. We will develop our communications strategy for managing data, information and disseminating knowledge to ensure the optimization, reach and end use of the R4D outcomes of Grain Legumes is also included in this component of the program. This strategy will innovatively make use of the new and emerging media tools (like Community radio, video, mobile and web based platforms) with a participatory approach to enable exchange of knowledge and information from and across the stakeholders including the smallholder farmers. Cross Cutting Area 2 (CC2) is intended to include informatics and high density genotyping platforms and the support proposed by the CO in the letter of 08/04/14. This emerges from four sources: (i) a new BMGF initiative the genomics back-office, (ii) the initiative from the Consortium office detailed in the letter of 08/04/14, (iii) the contribution to IBP 5 phase II within the CRP and (iv) the Tools and Platforms component of the new phase of the Tropical Legumes proposal, currently under development. Cross Cutting Area 3 includes the Project Management Unit and the various governance and oversight committees (See Annex 3 for a description of the changes proposed to be implemented for the Extension phase and preparations for Phase 2). New dimensions to this are the development of a results based management system that includes a grants scheme. We have remodelled our budget to obtain ca. 2M$ that we will disperse on the basis of grant applications. These will be aimed at three types of activities: 1) Projects that strengthen strategic partnerships. 2) Projects that are joint activities between the participating CGIAR Institutes 3) Projects that are joint with other CRPs (and jointly funded) Projects will be assessed by a subcommittee of the RMC and those selected sent for external review. Criteria for funding will be: alignment with our IDOs, potential impact, scientific excellence, and capacity for sustaining our research agenda. We also want to institute a system that monitors potential Intellectual Property and gives Quality Assurance while integrating our shared understanding of our Research Agenda (see Annex 4) 5 Draft genome sequences either are available or will be available soon for almost a ll CRP target legume crop, facilitating the development efficient genotyping platforms. The IBP (phase II) will help establishing such cross cutting platforms for the CRP as a whole building on ICRISAT s Center of Excellence in Genomics (CEG, The informatics platform will combine genetic, genomic, physiological biochemical and other data to provide decision support tools for breeders. These activities will provide access to tools, resources and databases to target legume communities. 7 of 32

9 Gender The main target population for impact in this CRP are smallholder farmers living in marginal environments many of whom are women or from other marginalized groups. To improve targeting, as well as delivery of R4D benefits to these populations, it is imperative that activities be implemented in a manner that adequately addresses social inequality and gender is one of the most common determinants of social inequity that influences other socio-economic factors driving differences in communities. The CRP gender strategy 6 recognizes these facts and describes how we will address them by deepening understanding of social inequity in target communities and so inform research priority, technology generation, deployment and promotion. In each region gender studies that leverage existing knowledge and/or generate more specific information will be conducted. This knowledge will be used to inform and/or modify design of R4D interventions: FP1- improve targeting by elucidating the influences of social inequity on uptake and use of IPM strategies; FP2&3- support selection of traits that have gender implications, FP4- clarify gender dimensions that may compound technology dissemination activities or access of women to markets; FP5- define and rationalize social inequity considerations to aid knowledge management efforts. The CRP gender team will develop an inventory of gender research activities to identify which populations targeted so far and to assess the impact of research on these populations. This will identify other potential target populations, for example, young men or women who may be invisible actors in the value chain yet could benefit through inclusion and/or innovation. We will analyse the degree of integration of gender into grain legumes research. Gender-disaggregated data is being reported in the CRP and further disaggregation of demographic data will be implemented to enrich the use of the data in diagnosing constraints and informing research plans. The framework for reporting, monitoring and evaluating gender integration into research projects will also be evaluated. Areas of greatest gender inequality will be defined with respect to the IDOs from the collected baseline data. Strategies will be developed to redress the identified inequalities within the Flagship projects. Sex-disaggregated data within program research and activities will be coordinated and integrated for ongoing activities. For capacity building activities indicators and targets will be designed, to assess outcomes of interventions on women s empowerment. These studies will be conducted at PL and/or Cross Cutting (CC1) levels. In order to assure compliance to the gender strategy, the CRP will draw on the strengths of gender experts from CGIAR centres and NARS partners. All priority setting, participatory technology testing and dissemination activities will be required to capture both qualitative and quantitative gender disaggregated data. Through monitoring, regularly done through quarterly reporting, gender imperatives will be captured and used to inform the CRP research management. Additionally, the CRP research management committee is being expanded (Annex 3) to include a sociologist and women to strengthen the social science related implementation of the CRP. Gender & nationality disaggregated committee Number of Nationality of members membership (target for Extn. Phase in italic) women men (ISO 3166 country codes) CRP Steering Committee (SC) 0, (3) 9 BRA, ETH, IND, LBN, NGA, PHL, TUR, URY, USA Independent Advisory Committee (IAC) 3 5 IND (2), IRN, SEN, UGA, USA (2), ZWE Research Management Committee (RMC) 0 (5) 11 CHE, GBR, IND (4), LBN, UGA, USA (3) Program Management Unit (PMU) 1 2 GBR, IND (2) SC and IAC may merge 6 The CRP Grain Legumes Gender Strategy was generated in 2013 and has recently been accepted this document is available at and we do not propose to alter it before a full year of implementation and evaluation 8 of 32

10 Partnerships The CRP Grain Legumes has partners throughout its activities. For example, BGI and UC Davis are important partners in genomics. For variety development our partners vary by location and are determined by the NARS and regional organisations that are active or have local responsibility. EIAR has been an especially close partner, and is represented on the Steering Committee of the program. Some of our most important partnerships are highlighted in the section on Regional Collaborations. Here we cite those on a more local level, or those that transcend a given region and have a global outlook. Among these latter partnerships, the Legume Innovation Laboratory and Peanut and Mycotoxin Innovation Laboratory funded by USAID are two of the most important, and link us to advanced research institutions in the United States. The development of a joint studentship plan will give immediate connectivity, but it is anticipated that the personal and lab to lab connections that will be made will focus long term interactions. These programs are unusual in the sense that they imply medium to long term commitments of expert researchers who bring their knowledge to bear on specific issues relevant to the improvement of agriculture in the developing world. This expertise can be an important complement to the strengths of the CGIAR, for example, in the area of nutrition as cited above, or in basic research on insect population dynamics that backstops PL 5 on IPM. Strategic partners: Examples of strategic partners below were highlighted for the Dalberg study: Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research : EIAR is represented on the Steering Committee of the CRP Grain Legumes. This partnership has been important for the delivery of improved Grain Legume varieties to Ethiopian farmers. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research is a key partner for activities in India (notably through ICRISAT and ICARDA). ICAR is represented on the Steering Committee of the CRP Grain Legumes. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (Morocco) is a key partner especially for ICARDA and is hosting many of its activities in the CRP Grain Legumes as part of the relocation strategy for ICARDA supported through the CRP Grain Legumes with additional W1 funding (to ICARDA). The PABRA network is CIAT supported (W3 funding through CIAT with $285,000 in staff time dedicated to seed systems) and acts as a broad regional coordinating body. With KARI in Kenya there are multiple interactions for chickpea, common bean, cowpea, groundnut, and pigeonpea. Joint workplans with KARI are being initiated. The extension phase will bring closer interactions with partners including those listed above, for some this involves closer and joint planning of work programs (eg with EIAR and as is planned with KARI). Our partnership with the Feed the Future Innovation labs will be strengthened by the studentship scheme to which the CRP will contribute financially from unspent funds from the PMU which was not fully established until the latter part of 2013 this will draw the USAID effort in these organisations closer to the CRP. We also propose a grants scheme (see New instruments in the description of the phased workplan below). This scheme is designed to improve interactions between the CGIAR Centres and with these and Partners while piloting the monitoring and evaluation of proposed projects at the CRP level. These are small changes to the way the CRP works internally and to how it interacts with partners, but are important in establishing ways of managing these interactions that are new and will be tested prior to their full deployment in the second phase of the program. 9 of 32

11 Changes in CRP governance, structure, partnerships In 2015 and 2016 we do not anticipate major changes to the structure of CRP Governance or partnerships, however the changes to be implemented are anticipated to presage the more radical changes that will be proposed to be implemented in Phase 2. The IEA report on CRP and governance together with the restructuring of the program with Flagships creates some opportunities for re-organising some of the Committee Structure. We anticipate the expansion or RMC to include wider representation by gender and discipline (see Gender above and Annex 2 below). One further possibility is that the Steering Committee and the Independent Advisory Committee may merge if the IEA report is adopted by the FC and this is agreed by the current SC. Budget partitioning between participating Centres will remain largely unchanged and the partnership budget will be about 10% of the FP (or PL) budgets. However, we have allocated about $2M to a grants scheme (a little more than 10% of the W1/W2 funding), and this could distort the pattern of funding by institution or discipline according to the quality and timeliness of the proposed projects (see Grants Scheme below). CRP-CRP and related interactions The program of work also depends on a network of formal and informal partnerships that are often specific to individuals, institutions or geographies. We will continue to develop both formal and structured links with other CRPs (notably PIM,CCAFS, A4NH, Dryland Cereals and Dryland Systems). The BMGF projects Tropical Legumes and N2Africa are strongly aligned with the CRP Grain Legumes, a new phase of the Tropical Legumes program will be developed in 2014, that will support scaling out our outcomes and for which the alignment of proposed outputs is currently being developed. W3/bilateral funding represents about 65% of our funding and creates stability in our cash flow, but does present challenges in describing the common framework because W3/bilateral projects have their own internal outputs, targets and evaluations and the alignment with CRP needs both to respect these boundaries and ensure synergy. W3 funding does contribute substantially to intercentre and partner collaboration so it is a very important glue for the program as a whole. W3/bilateral funding also tends to align these projects with a single CRP, in part because of the complexity of mapping and partitioning output goals; this means that there is a heavy bias away from such projects that overtly align CRPs. We will introduce a Grants Scheme in this phase (see below) and within this portfolio w ill look to the possibility of joint funding from different CRPs for proposals of common interest. 10 of 32

12 Regional collaborations Grain Legumes is integrated with regional organisations in several ways. The most direct is through long term support of crop networks such as CIAT s support for the PABRA ( network in Africa that functions through its eastern, southern and western sub structures which serve a total of 29 countries. The PABRA network functions under the auspices of CIAT, but the three regional components each have a governance mechanism in the form of a steering committee with national representatives. Technology developed in CIAT or in partner countries is channelled through the networks for evaluation, validation, and eventual delivery to clients. In Central America formal networks have not been functional for over a decade, but collegial relationships established under past networks continue to facilitate regional collaboration, with the support of the Legume Innovation Laboratory. In Asia an ongoing network called Cereals and Legumes Asia Network (CLAN is hosted by ICRISAT, and co-facilitated by AVRDC and ICARDA. CLAN is also supported by the Asia Pacific Association of Agriculture Research Institutions (APAARI). CLAN has established a viable and dynamic partnership with NARS, NGOs and regional institutions in 12 South and Southeast Asian countries for R4D collaboration among member countries, and with IARCs and regional institutions. At an organisational level the Independent Advisory Committee of Grain Legumes ( includes representatives from regional organisations (APAARI, ASARECA & CORAF). In SSA Grain Legumes will also leverage ongoing agricultural research for development investments being implemented by Sub-Regional Agricultural Organisations (SROs) and the African Orphan Crops Consortium (AOCC). In West Africa our work contributes to the R4D investments of West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF/WECARD); in Eastern Africa, the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in East and Central Africa (ASARECA) and in Southern Africa Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA) and Nile Valley and Sub-Saharan Africa network in North Africa. These SROs are the lead agencies for implementation of CAADP agricultural research for development (pillar number 4). CORAF and ASARECA were essential in developing regional seed policies that will be used to support regional seed activities of this CRP. The ability of these agencies to influence policy will be used as necessary. Another important regional actor is the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). AGRA operates in most of Sub Saharan Africa. We will leverage their investments especially under the Program for Africa's Seed System (PASS) to scale up improved seed delivery to farmers. Linkages with regional Official Development Assistance (ODA) programmes such as Feed the Future and UK Aid under DFID will be used to similarly support technology reach. 11 of 32

13 Phased workplan covering the 2 year extension period until 2016 The content of Flagship Projects is indicated in Annex 2 and the output target due during the Extension Phase are given in Annex 5. The CRP Grain Legumes currently has a wide geographical reach: Additional countries are associated with the program, for example Madagascar is part of the PABRA network that is part of Grain Legumes. However, the extension phase of Grain Legumes is mainly about consolidation and focussing of effort. The Tropical Legumes (TL) Project (BMGF W3) represents a subset of the crops and countries of interest to Grain Legumes, thus an explicit plan for the spillover countries will be established within CC1. Similarly the distinction between TL activities and W1/W2 funded activities in common target areas will be made explicit in the POWB and the TL renewal application. The realignment of the description of Grain Legumes according to Flagships rather than Product Lines emphasises the process of technology development and deployment rather than the specific implementations we intend. Nevertheless the Product Lines remain our focus and coordinating principle and this will be reflected in the project management structure. The Product Lines are focussed on technological developments that were assessed as likely to add value to on-going work, and to have maximal impact for Grain Legume production and use, but this focus tended to distract attention from other necessary activities. For example the development of heat tolerant lines that were susceptible to foliar disease or had poor market acceptability would likely have a poor (or negative) impact, so the adjustment in program design allows us to be clear about the relative importance of these activities. The realignment of the program has also enabled us to emphasise those components that are not specifically orientated towards plant breeding. FP1 is overtly focussed on the interaction of plants with their environment, both in terms of other organisms and physical and chemical conditions. We are also better able to identify and track the socio-economic components of the program in Cross- Cutting area 1. These developments should assist us in the creation of a robust monitoring and evaluation process that focuses on our intended outcomes rather than the biological means by which these are achieved. An underlying development is the emergence of the use of DNA sequence based methodologies. Genome sequences are available for soybean, chickpea, pigeonpea groundnut and common bean (although the latter is publically available it is not formally published). An international consortium is working on the lentil genome and extensive genomic tools have been developed for cowpea. This leaves faba bean as the target crop with the least genomic resources. This is not surprising: the faba bean genome is almost four times the size of the human genome and it is full of repetitive elements, but marker development is underway. DNA sequencing is widely used within the program; and features in all the FPs except FP4 which is focussed on seed systems, post-harvest processing, markets and nutrition. Output targets deliverable in 2015 and 2016 are listed in Annex 5, note that additional Output Targets have partial outputs in this period. 12 of 32

14 New instruments We have instigated three new instruments in the Extension Phase, with the intention that these can be trialled prior to expansion in Phase 2. Studentship scheme This has two components, one is a scheme that is joint between the CRP and the USAID funded Legume Innovation Lab. These studentship projects are agreed by a subcommittee of the RMC (to be established) working together with the Legume Innovation Laboratory. Studentships are open to persons nominated by the CRP and can be held in any US University. The second component is an internally funded studentship scheme tenable in any partner academic organisation. Grants Scheme We have held back ca. 2M$ of our W1/W2 budget to be deployed through a grants scheme. This will operate in two ways. The first is through the request for proposals that involve interactions between participating centres or centres and partners. These will be judged on scientific merit and relevance to Grain Legumes. Most likely this will correspond to four grants of $250k, though smaller grants would also be considered. The second route is through commissioning areas where there is a gap in our activities will be identified and applications sought for proposals that address the missing work area. These could be within the Grain Legumes program or include a partner organisation. This is anticipated to correspond to eight proposals of ca. $125k. Capacity building The Grain Legumes program has a strong capacity building effort that is needed for its transformation of outputs to outcomes and for the development of efficient and effective relationships with partner organisations. However these have tended to have an institutional focus and to be somewhat ad hoc. There has been criticism from the ISPC that (in the CGIAR as a whole and not necessarily Grain Legumes) some courses have been offered with more enthusiasm than content. We propose that Grain Legumes funded (and therefore approved) courses should have an accreditation scheme, and this accreditation will be established by the RMC in consultation with the SC and will follow the route proposed for publications (Annex 4). This will avoid unnecessary duplication (or clashes) and should promote internal communications within Grain Legumes. Capacity building will include a variety of approaches and technician training will be included degree based training is dealt with under the studentship scheme above. Knowledge sharing and communications A state-of-the-art ICT mediated platform will host all the CC1.3 services including data repository, knowledge resource, knowledge network, Community of Practice, communications and outreach. The platform will also engage with other collaborators, research institutes and universities working on grain legumes. This platform aims to become a single source of reference for grain legumes. 13 of 32

15 Budget Grain Legumes officially ends on 30 June, However, we propose budget and planning for the full year of 2015, and for The Financial plan for 2015 was set by the Consortium Office on 6 th December 2013, and the 2014 budget is estimated here from the budgets over the whole of the Phase 1 period, ie this smoothens-out the peak in funding for 2013, assuming that the claw-back of funds was completed within the timeframe of phase 1. The basis of the 2016 budget estimate is explained in the figure: The actual budget shows the unusual budget allocation in 2013 which was rectified by a considerable reduction in 2014 and Note that the project was agreed in August 2012 and the 2012 budget is for a half year. The averaged budget shows what the funding profile would have been if the funds were allocated evenly over this period (and we were not penalised for the large allocation in 2013). We estimate the 2016 budget based on this averaged figure rather than the actual (and reduced) 2015 figure. The Flagship Project budgets for 2015 and 2016 are given below (thousands of USD): Description W1/W2 W3/Bilat Total W1/W2 W3/Bilat Total FP1 Managing productivity 2,677 7,500 10,177 3,102 8,250 11,352 FP2 Trait determination 1,458 4,122 5,580 1,644 4,534 6,178 FP3 Trait deployment 3,205 9,715 12,920 3,734 10,687 14,421 FP4 Seed systems, post-harvest processing, markets and nutrition 1,706 6,326 8,032 1,941 6,959 8,900 FP5 Capacity Building and Partnerships 1,348 4,298 5,646 2,113 4,728 6,841 CC1 Knowledge, Impacts, Priorities, and 2,020 4,598 6,618 2,316 5,058 7,374 Gender Organisation CC2 Tools and platforms for genotyping and bioinformatics CC3 Management 1, ,626 1, ,945 CC3.1 Grants Scheme 2, ,000 2, ,393 Total 16,150 37,100 53,250 19,321 40,812 60,133 We also intend to seek support of ca. $1M additional W1/2 funding for the implementation of our results based management strategy that will be allied to the grants scheme discussed in this document. These additional W1/W2 funds will be the subject of a separate document, and if obtained will be in addition to the W1/W2 budget presented here, for the new RBM activity. 14 of 32

16 The assignment of costs to IDOs is estimated on the basis of the contribution of activity clusters to IDOs W1/W2 W3/Bilat Total W1/W2 W3/Bilat Total IDO1 2,283 7,430 9,713 2,732 8,173 10,905 IDO2 1,127 2,612 3,739 1,348 2,873 4,221 IDO3 1,850 6,392 8,242 2,213 7,032 9,245 IDO4 6,177 16,853 23,030 7,390 18,539 25,929 IDO5 1,087 3,813 4,900 1,300 4,195 5,495 Total 12,524 37,100 49,624 14,983 40,812 55,795 (Note: these figures exclude management and grants scheme costs see Annex 1 for definition of IDOs) The additional W1/W2 funding we intend to apply for in order to implement Results Based Management will be allied to the grants scheme (see above). This anticipates the intended shift from an allocated budget to a justified request budget in the second phase and will test the systems to manage this new way of working. 15 of 32

17 Annex 1 IDOs, targets and assumptions IDO Targets The Intermediate Development Outcomes are broad, and each could be enhanced by many of our activities and, below, these are not disaggregated by Flagship Product. IDO1 Food Security: Improved and stable access to grain legumes by urban and rural poor An additional 1.6 million tons of common beans are available annually in Latin America, and 1.3 million tons in Africa, derived in part from an additional 500,000 hectares in heat prone areas, and an additional 500,000 hectares of climbing beans At least 10% increase in cowpea production resulting in higher supply of grains to the market and ultimately consumers At least 550,000 ha area in new niches brought under cultivation of chickpea, faba bean, lentil and common bean by growing heat tolerant varieties At least 15% increase in groundnut supply at household level in target areas in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda and 10-15% in Nigeria, Mali, Senegal and Niger Decrease in grain legume price volatility/variability by at least 3-5% in the target regions in India, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, Mali, Senegal and Niger; and 2% in Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, Syria, Turkey and Iran About 1 million households growing an additional crop of short-duration chickpea/lentil in rice fallows and rice-rice systems Decline in real price of pigeonpea by at least 10% in target regions IDO2 Income: Increased and more equitable income from grain legumes by low income value chain actors, especially women Income from common bean sales increases by at least USD 100 million in Latin America and USD 300 million in Africa 10-15% increase in income of 1 million households from growing drought and low-p tolerant cowpea varieties 15-20% increase in income for at least 2.5 million households, of which 30% income earned by women, by growing heat tolerant varieties of chickpea, faba bean and lentil 10-15% increase in income from groundnut for 1 million households across India and Vietnam 10-20% reduction in labour requirement for women by cultivating short duration improved groundnut in India, Vietnam, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Senegal, Nigeria and Niger 10-20% increase in groundnut export due to reduced aflatoxin contamination in India and Vietnam; 15-20% in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda; and up to 10% in Burkina Faso, Ghana, in Nigeria, Mali, Senegal and Niger 10% increase in income from groundnut in 150,000 households in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Mali; and 15-20% increase in income from groundnut in 200,000 households in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda; of which at least 50% earned by women 15-20% increase in income from cultivation of short-duration chickpea and lentil varieties to about 1 million smallholder families, especially women-headed households Chickpea, faba bean and lentil harvested mechanically in 2 million ha with 15-20% increase in income in target regions due to reduction in production costs, and 20-25% reduction in labour requirements of farm women involved in chickpea cultivation 16 of 32

18 IDO3 Nutrition & Health: Increased consumption of healthy grain legumes and products by the poor for a more balanced and nutritious diet, especially among nutritionally vulnerable women and children 10-15% increase in consumption of chickpea and faba bean, 10% of bean in Africa, and 15-20% of lentil in target areas 10% higher consumption of groundnut containing low aflatoxin particularly by women and children in India, Vietnam, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, Senegal and Niger 20% higher consumption of lentil containing high iron and zinc content particularly by women and children in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Ethiopia 20% increase in consumption of pigeonpea in poor rural households in India, and 10% in Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi and Uganda, especially by women and children IDO4 Productivity: Improved productivity of farming systems, especially among smallholder farmers Yields of common bean increase at least 40% among adopters of bush beans in Latin America and Africa, and 100% among adopters of climbing beans in Africa. Drought tolerant cowpea varieties with 15-20% increase in yield adopted by 10-15% of farmers in target countries and planted in 1.0 million hectares; low-p tolerant cowpea varieties cover at least 500,000 ha in low soil fertility areas of Burkina Faso, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Tanzania. Heat tolerant varieties of chickpea, faba bean, lentil and bean cultivated in 1.5 million hectares with 20-25% increase in yield in target regions Short-duration chickpea and lentil varieties grown in 500,000 ha in rice-fallows and new niches, improving the cropping system productivity by 20-25% in target regions of South Asia Adoption of drought tolerant groundnut cultivars provides 10-15% increase in yield in 500,000 ha in India and Vietnam; 200,000 ha in Tanzania, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, Niger, and Senegal; 150,000 ha in Malawi; 100,000 ha in Uganda and Mozambique Adoption of drought tolerant soybean cultivars will increase grain yield by 15-30% in 50,000 ha in Malawi, 10,000 ha in Mozambique, 15,000 ha in Zambia and 100,000 ha in Nigeria Adoption of soybean varieties with enhanced biological nitrogen fixation will provide 20-30% increases in grain and biomass yields and add at least 20 kg nitrogen per hectare to soil Hybrid pigeonpea cultivated on 150,000 ha in target regions in India with an average increase of 20-25% productivity % increase in pigeonpea yields in 200,000 ha in Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi and Uganda IDO5 Environment: Minimized adverse environmental effects of increased production and intensification of grain legumes An additional 25,000 metric tons of nitrogen from climbing beans, and 25,000 metric tons from improved bush beans Cultivation of short-duration foliar diseases resistant groundnut varieties reduces pesticide use by 20-25% in target groundnut producing areas, minimizing environmental contamination by pesticide residues by at least 15% Reduction in pesticide use in chickpea and pigeonpea by at least 25% in target regions of Asia Reduction of yield losses by 35% in cowpea due to the adoption of IPM innovations based on host plant resistance (including Bt-transgenics), biological control and bio-pesticides, thereby reducing the use of synthetic pesticides by at least 25% Increase soil fertility and organic matter content by % in the target groundnut areas in SSEA, ESA and WCA 17 of 32

19 Increase in soil organic matter content by 0.1 to 0.2 % in target (pigeonpea growing) regions in India and ESA. Assumptions related to activities to create outputs A number of assumptions are made regarding the potential for the Grain Legumes Research Program to produce the targeted outputs. These include the following. Research for poverty-stricken low-potential areas will remain the domain of the public sector at least in next 10 years. Grain legumes are a major livelihood strategy element for addressing food, nutrition income and environmental services of legume-farmers and their related value chain actors. Adequate genetic diversity exists in germplasm collections to offer significant protection against abiotic stress and as sources for diverse production input traits Modern breeding techniques can enhance the breeding of abiotic and biotic stress tolerance as well as nutritional quality. Past success in identifying natural enemies of legume pests can be converted into viable IPM systems. There is buy-in of partners in the production of the outputs, along with an enabling environment. A common assumption about dissemination of new legume varieties is that farmers save their own stocks and seldom purchase seed, and that this is a disincentive to the private sector to produce and stock legume seed. Undoubtedly this has been a barrier to the rapid dissemination and the reach of improved legume varieties. However, this has also stimulated a more creative and diversified approach to legume seed production and dissemination systems. Among the multiple approaches tested, several scenarios for the marketing of small quantities of seed at economical prices (eg smal l seed packets) proved promising especially in reaching women who in particular are seldom in a position to afford large quantities at one time. Being able to experiment with new varieties at minimal risk motivated thousands of farmers to purchase seed packets for as little as the cost of a cup of tea. In turn some seed producers were motivated to enter the legume seed business, selling at a small unit price but at a higher per weight price. Governmental recognition of Quality Declared Seed (QDS) in several countries will facilitate decentralized seed production at much lower cost to farmers than certified seed. Mapping access by farmers to seed outlets will facilitate putting improved and high quality seed within reach of smallholder farmers. Some of the CRP seed-based products are designed to augment total food production and availability, and could also targeted to producers with more resources (e.g., hybrid pigeonpea, herbicide resistant and/or machine harvestable varieties), at least in the near term. Some of these technologies implicitly will be accompanied by changes in input use or machinery, with the expectation that input providers will respond to this opportunity and for women farmers drudgery may also be reduced. One critical component of success has been to substitute the vertical model of the impact pathway (researchers to national partners to extension agents and seed producers) for an interactive model with feedback loops back and forth between farmers, traders, researchers, and seed producers. This links supply and demand, and has permitted the development of business and professional relationships whereby users and suppliers of seed (or other technologies) enter into agreements that facilitate the flow of seed. These relationships should be nurtured to evolve into innovation platforms. Other technologies benefit from other sorts of person-to-person communication such as farmer field schools, for which a gender sensitive training of trainers strategy can serve for scaling up. These considerations suggest the requirement for Grain Legumes to leverage diverse but complementary investments of development agencies targeting improvement in agricultural productivity, market competitiveness and increased benefits to person and the environment. These could be monitored and evaluated for lesson learning to inform further R4D and scaling up and out activities, and we will devise this monitoring scheme during the extension phase. 18 of 32

20 Assumptions and risks to attain reach Quality breeder and foundation seed can be produced in adequate quantities. While small seed packs are a low risk option for farmers, especially women, that permits them to experiment with new varieties or hybrids, private seed companies may need some support to participate in this strategy. Multiple approaches encouraged by the public sector will be needed to expand dissemination. Novel agronomic practices that require capital investment will find slower adoption but this will be facilitated by marketable varieties. Increased focus on delivery of results by development agencies and governments will support scaling up and out efforts. Developing economies continue to experience growth in their economies, with increased aggregate demand for agricultural products as population growth and urbanisation increases. In order to achieve the net effect of the increased growth for sub Saharan Africa, with the change in behaviour described above, support for legumes at all levels should be enhanced and the enabling environment greatly facilitated. While there are many behavioural changes in terms of seed purchase, crop management, etc., the essential behaviour change at all levels (farmers, seed producers, input suppliers, and policy makers) needs to be a new attitude toward legumes. Farmers often plant a legume only after other crops are already established. As noted above, many seed producers see little future in legume seed. Policy makers fix their attention on volumes of food that normally proceed from cereals, and not on quality. All must be encouraged to consider legumes to be an indispensable component of the diet and of the farming system. An awareness of their nutritional value and health effects is an important part of this message, but a growing economic value driven by more effective markets will be the most effective tool for this, combined with a more effective communication strategy. Assumptions to attain change in capacity and behaviour Dissemination with participation gives farmers exposure to new varieties with greater market potential and leads to behaviour change following the IMOD strategy ( Farmers with modest-to-good capital and market access will adopt crop management techniques, especially when the variety lends itself to higher technology. Enhanced markets will attract the attention of farmers, the private sector, and policy makers, and will raise the profile of all these actors Fora that facilitate communication among multiple actors (researchers, seed producers, traders, farmers, NGOs, CBOs, etc.) have the potential to evolve into innovation platforms that enhance productivity and link farmers to markets. Increased literacy of farmers as a result of implementation of compulsory schooling for over a decade in all target regions will enhance knowledge uptake and use. With the change in behaviour described above, support for legumes at all levels should be enhanced and the enabling environment greatly facilitated. Assumptions about the enabling environment At least some seed companies will be induced to distribute and sell small seed packs, while others will eventually respond to the opportunity afforded by a more technical production system. Extension services, especially those sponsored by NGOs, will help reach the poorest of the poor. Increased attention to agriculture following the world food crisis of has led to increased investments in production and productivity enhancement to stem future crises. 19 of 32

21 In sub- Saharan Africa, increased investments in agriculture through country led actions within the framework of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) will underpin growth in the agricultural sector. The increased shift from agricultural extension focusing on technology transfer, to agricultural advisory services focusing on improvement in functionality of the value chains, enhances adoption and realisation of benefits across a broad range of stakeholders. The Generic Impact pathway for Grain Legumes is illustrated below: 20 of 32

22 Annex 2 Flagship Projects and Product Lines Description of the extension phase at the level of research questions and output targets. The structure of project is as illustrated below: This restructuring follows from comments on the 2014 Plan of Work and Budget, and corresponds to changing the description of the project in terms of the Strategic Components (SC) of the original project description rather than the Product Lines. A simple rotation of the description leaves SC2 as approximately 60% of the project, so here it has been divided into three sub components, and that required some slight modification to the description of the Output Targets, although their content is substantially unaltered. (see Flagship Projects and Activities below) Each activity has a set of output targets, and these address a specific research question. Many of these are single Output Targets when viewed from the point of view of Product Lines, but have sub - components distributed among Flagship Projects. These components have been designated milestones and naturally address subsidiary questions. For example OT Breeders have access to new sources of durable resistance to key insect pests which can produce in average 30% more yield and need 50% less insecticide sprays addresses the research question of whether durable insect pest resistance exists and is controlled genetically in such a way that it can be manipulated in breeding programmes. This falls within a single Product Line of Insect smart production systems but is distributed among three Flagship Projects, that correspond to the study of plant pest interactions in FP1, the analysis of genetic determinants of these interactions in FP2 and the deployment of allelic variation in breeding programs within FP3. Accordingly M New sources of durable resistance to key insect pests identified asks whether variation for insect pest resistance exists in available germplasm. M Genetic mechanisms of resistance to key insect pests identified asks the question What is the genetic basis of pest 21 of 32