1.2 Detalles de contacto de las personas de referencia e instituciones involucradas en la evaluación y la documentación del Enfoque

Nombre del proyecto que facilitó la documentación/ evaluación del Enfoque (si fuera relevante)

ICARDA Institutional Knowledge Management Initiative

Nombre de la(s) institución(es) que facilitaron la documentación/ evaluación del Enfoque si fuera relevante)

International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) - Líbano

1.3 Condiciones referidas al uso de datos documentados mediante WOCAT

¿Cuándo se compilaron los datos (en el campo)?

2022

El compilador y la/s persona(s) de referencia claves aceptan las condiciones acerca del uso de los datos documentados mediante WOCAT :

Sí

1.4 Referencia/s al/los Cuestionario(s) de Tecnologías MST

2.1 Breve descripción del Enfoque

The 4-Wheels Approach addresses the challenge of slow adoption of agricultural innovations among smallholder farmers by establishing Knowledge Hubs and partnerships with diverse stakeholders. The focus is on income-generating technologies and essential factors behind successful scaling up of innovations, ultimately driving agricultural modernization and sustainability.

2.2 Descripción detallada del Enfoque MST

Descripción detallada del Enfoque MST:

The challenge of low and slow adoption of innovations from agricultural research by smallholder farmers is difficult, complex, and is impeding the progress of agricultural modernization in many developing countries. This issue has negative consequences on farm productivity and farmers' livelihoods. Furthermore, it influences the outcomes of investments made by both national and international agricultural research and development initiatives. The problem is exacerbated by evolving climatic and social conditions, which makes more urgent the need for systemic transformation and modernization to enhance food production - while ensuring sustainability.

To confront this challenge of low rates of scaling up and adoption, the International Center of Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) introduced and validated the “4-Wheels Approach” in countries where ICARDA is active, including Algeria and Tunisia. Among other innovations, two types of machinery are being scaled up this way: (a) the pelletizer (which creates feed pellets from by-products) and (b) the seed cleaning machine (for mechanical seed cleaning, substantially reducing workload). Both technologies have been documented in WOCAT’s global database.

The 4-Wheels Approach is built upon Knowledge Hubs and dynamic partnerships. Knowledge Hubs encompass physical structures, such as (informal) training centres, which usually belong to local farmers’ associations and cooperatives. The purpose of these hubs is to refine and disseminate knowledge locally in a self-sustained way, potentially through established partnerships with key local and regional stakeholders and scaling partners. Four categories of stakeholders, also referred to as change-agents and facilitators of technology dissemination, are identified: i) farmers’ groups and various other local associations, ii) civil society (including non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector), iii) national public development partners, and iv) lead farmers and extensionists, all of whom play a pivotal role in holding the key knowledge about the technology and spreading it locally. Consequently, these Knowledge Hubs serve to further adapt and mainstream technical knowledge through intermediary beneficiaries (also called proxies or “ambassadors” of the technology), who in turn facilitate dissemination to the ultimate users and beneficiaries, namely the farmers. Viewing the approach’s scaling and Knowledge Hubs through this lens underscores the necessity of investing in continuous and comprehensive networking, which doesn’t overlook any of the possible and relevant scaling partners.
The implementation of the 4-Wheels Approach via Knowledge Hubs and collaborative partnerships has emerged as a compelling strategy for challenges in the uptake of agricultural innovations, fostering a sustainable pathway towards modernization, and thus uplifting the well-being of smallholder farmers in developing areas. The concepts of 4-Wheels Approach and Knowledge Hubs are closely related and interlinked/integrated. The participation of the four types of partners who are engaged through the 4-Wheels Approach within the Knowledge Hub activities allows them to better understand, participate and advocate for relevant local innovations. The 4-Wheels Approach ensures the concentrated involvement of scaling partners of different background within the same landscape, and thus efforts to engage innovation actors become more fruitful by being more accessible and inclusive.

Acknowledgement: This research was funded by the CLCA project (funded by IFAD), PROSOL (funded by GIZ), and OneCGIAR initiative on agroecology. All of the previous projects and initiatives are implemented and coordinated by the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). The projects partnered with national partners including the OEP (Office de l’elevage et des pâturages) for the training of the cooperatives, as well as Tunisia’s National Agricultural Research Institute (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique en Tunisi, INRAT) and the National Institute of Field Crops (Institut National des Grands Cultures, INGC) which selected the cooperatives, and the Regional Department for Agricultural Development (Commissariat Regional de Développement Agricole, CRDA) which facilitated the access to farmers communities and creation of knowledge hubs. We would like to thank all partners for their contributions and collaboration.

2.3 Fotos del Enfoque

2.5 País/ región/ lugares donde el Enfoque fue aplicado

2.6 Fechas de inicio y conclusión del Enfoque

2.7 Tipo de Enfoque

• proyecto/ basado en un programa

2.8 Propósitos/ objetivos principales del Enfoque

The aim of this approach is to achieve sustainable scaling and foster greater adoption of innovations. This is pursued through the establishment of Knowledge Hubs (as spaces of innovation) where, the formation of partnerships (based on the 4-Wheels Approach), and the research into viable business models is carefully and step-wise implemented (in reference list see the protocol for implementation in Frija & Idoudi 2020).

2.9 Condiciones que facilitan o impiden la implementación de la/s Tecnología/s aplicadas bajo el Enfoque

3.1 Partes interesadas involucradas en el Enfoque y sus roles

3.2 Involucramiento de los usuarios locales de tierras/ comunidades locales en las distintas fases del Enfoque

	Involucramiento de los usuarios locales de tierras/ comunidades locales	Especifique quién se involucró y describa las actividades
iniciación/ motivación	ninguno	ICARDA and OEP led discussion with the importer and manufacturer.
planificación	ninguno	Discussion between ICARDA, OEP, GIZ, INGC, to identify potential beneficiaries of the machines.
implementación	interactivo	ICARDA and OEP discussed with farmer cooperatives their interests in the machines. ICARDA, OEP, and manufacture produced and distributed the machines. Financial contribution of the farmer cooperation was requested to foster ownership.
monitoreo y evaluación	interactivo	ICARDA and OEP visits the farmer cooperatives every three months to collect business data, see if the machine operates correctly, and to identify constraints.

3.3 Flujograma (si estuviera disponible)

3.4 La toma de decisiones en la selección de Tecnología(s) MST

Especifique quién decidió la selección de las Tecnología/ Tecnologías a implementarse:

• solo por especialistas MST

Explique:

ICARDA and partners investigated relevant and suitable technologies. Essential was that the business model is self-sustaining.

Especifique las bases que sustentaron la toma de decisiones:

• la evaluación de conocimiento MST bien documentado (la toma de decisiones se basa en evidencia)
• hallazgos de investigaciones
• la experiencia personal y opiniones (no documentadas)

4.1 Construcción de capacidades / capacitación

¿Se proporcionó la capacitación a usuarios de tierras/ otras partes interesadas?

Sí

Especifique quién fue capacitado:

• usuarios de tierras

Si fuese relevante, también especifique género, edad, estatus, etnicidad, etc.

Farmers of the cooperation were trained

Forma de capacitación:

• en el contexto de trabajo
• áreas de demostración
• reuniones públicas
• cursos

Temas avanzados:

The use of the machinery, their maintenance and recipes for pellets

4.2 Servicio de asesoría

¿Los usuarios de tierras tienen acceso a un servicio de asesoría?

Sí

Especifique si servicio proporcionado se realizó:

• en los campos de los usuarios de tierras

4.3 Fortalecimiento institucional (desarrollo institucional)

¿Se establecieron o fortalecieron instituciones mediante el Enfoque?

• sí, moderadamente

Especifique el nivel o los niveles en los que se fortalecieron o establecieron las instituciones:

• local

Describa la institución, roles y responsabilidades, miembros, etc.

Farmer cooperation and knowledge hubs were established. The rationale is that because the machines are economically viable on their own, the cooperation will keep on sharing the knowledge using the hubs.

Especifique el tipo de apoyo:

• construcción de capacidades/ entrenamiento
• equipo

4.4 Monitoreo y evaluación

¿El monitoreo y la evaluación forman parte del Enfoque?

Sí

Comentarios:

By monitoring certain indicators, such as the number of beneficiaries, pellets produced, seed cleaned, etc. In addition, ICARDA is frequently visiting the hubs to see progress and solve problems that occurred.

Si respondió que sí, ¿la documentación se utilizará para monitoreo y evaluación?

Sí

4.5 Investigación

¿La investigación formó parte del Enfoque?

Sí

Especifique los temas:

• sociología
• economía/ marketing
• ecología
• tecnología

5.1 Presupuesto anual para el componente MST del Enfoque

Si no se conoce el presupuesto anual preciso, indique el rango:

• 10,000-100,000

Comentarios (ej. fuentes principales de financiamiento/ donantes principales):

This includes the machines and trainings.

5.2 Apoyo financiero/material proporcionado a los usuarios de tierras

¿Los usuarios de tierras recibieron financiamiento/ apoyo material para implementar la Tecnología/ Tecnologías? :

Sí

Si respondió sí, especifique el tipo o los tipos de apoyo, condiciones y proveedor(es) :

The land users, organized in farmer cooperation, were supported with machinery

5.3 Subsidios para insumos específicos (incluyendo mano de obra)

• equipo

5.4 Crédito

¿Se proporcionó crédito bajo el Enfoque para actividades MST?

No

5.5 Otros incentivos o instrumentos

¿Se usaron otros incentivos o instrumentos para promover la implementación de Tecnologías MST?

No

6.1 Impactos del Enfoque

6.2 Motivación principal del usuario de la tierra para implementar MST

6.3 Sostenibilidad de las actividades del Enfoque

¿Pueden los usuarios de tierras sostener lo que se implementó mediante el Enfoque (sin apoyo externo)?

• sí

Si respondió que sí, describa cómo:

The machines on their self are economically viable.

6.4 Fortalezas/ ventajas del Enfoque

Fuerzas/ ventajas/ oportunidades desde la perspectiva del usuario de la tierra
Seed Cleaning Unit: better seeds, improves yield, higher income, less workload
Feed Pelletizer: use of agricultural by-products, cheap compound feed, less workload

Fuerzas/ ventajas/ oportunidades desde la perspectiva del compilador o de otra persona de referencia clave
Major strength of the 4-Wheels approach is the aspect of the collaboration, between private actor (machine manufacturer or importer), farmer organization, lead farmer of the organization, OEP (extension), INRAT (research for composition). This multi-actor collaboration is key of the 4-wheel approach and key of the success of the scaling of the two technologies
Seed Cleaning Unit: better seeds, improves yield, higher income, less workload
Feed Pelletizer: use of agricultural by-products, cheap compound feed, less workload
The 4-Wheels Approach ensures ownership over the machinery while building capacity

6.5 Debilidades/ desventajas del Enfoque y formas de sobreponerse a ellos

Debilidades/ desventajas/ riesgos desde la perspectiva del usuario de la tierra	¿Cómo sobreponerse a ellas?
Feed Pelletizer: Farmers still don’t know the optimum mixture of ingredients to produce pellets for each region and categories of animals (sheep / cow / camel).	Intense collaboration with agricultural research

Debilidades/ desventajas/ riesgos desde la perspectiva del compilador o de otra persona de referencia clave	¿Cómo sobreponerse a ellas?
A risk of the approach is the sustainability. It is not sure (yet) if and how the knowledge hub will continue once there is no more support from ICARDA and (national) partners.	The theoretical idea is that through the income generation with these machines they (farmer organization) will continue training others and sharing their knowledge. But this theory needs to be validated and proven.
Seed Cleaning Unit: quite expensive for a small scale farmer (7,000 US$ nowadays)	To buy the unit as a farmer organization (cooperation) and use it by many farmers
The Feed Pelletizer can be expensive for individual small scale farmer, availability of spare parts of pelletizing machine only in Tunis (access problem), needs available by-products (they are only seasonable), need access to subsidized barley and wheat bran to produce at competitive prices. Farmer organizations have no quota for subsidized barley and wheat bran, only individual farmers to a limited amount and feed enterprises	To use the feed pelletizer as a group to reduce costs per farmer; transform cooperative into a feed processing enterprise as they have access to subsidized barley and wheat bran

7.1 Métodos/ fuentes de información

7.3 Vínculos a la información relevante disponible en línea

Título/ descripción:

Aymen Frija, Zied Idoudi. (18/12/2020). Self-Sustained “Scaling Hubs” for Agricultural Technologies: Definition of Concepts, Protocols, and Implementation. Lebanon: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).

URL:

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11766/12248

Título/ descripción:

Mourad Rekik, Aymen Frija, Zied Idoudi, Santiago López Ridaura, Nasreddine Louahdi, Boubaker Dhehibi, Dina Najjar, Udo Rudiger, Enrico Bonaiuti, Laura Becker, Zohra Djender Ghallem, Hatem Cheikh M'hamed, Mina Devkota Wasti, Barbara Rischkowsky. (11/3/2021). Use of Conservation Agriculture in Crop-Livestock Systems (CLCA) in the Drylands for Enhanced Water Use Efficiency, Soil Fertility and Productivity in NEN and LAC Countries – Progress Highlights: Year (3) - April 2020 to March 2021. Lebanon: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).

URL:

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11766/12703

Título/ descripción:

Aymen Frija, Zied Idoudi, Udo Rudiger, Jebali Oussama, Hatem Cheikh M'hamed, Haithem Bahri, Boubaker Dhehibi, Mourad Rekik, Imen Hemissi, Salah Ben Youssef, Khouloud Chetoui, Mounir Louhaichi, Mouldi Gamoun, Asma Souissi. (6/12/2022). Soil Protection and Rehabilitation of Degraded Soil for Food Security – ProSol: Towards the Effective Scaling of Soil and Water Conservation Technologies under Different Agroecosystems in North and Central West Tunisia – SWC@Scale/ProSol: Technical Progress Report/ January – August 2022. Beirut, Lebanon: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).

URL:

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11766/67835