Highlights:

The objective of the DeSIRA initiative is to contribute to the climate-relevant, productive and sustainable transformation of agriculture and food systems in low and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The initiative aims at supporting Research and Innovation (R&I) projects and strengthening research capacities and governance, involving key actors at the national and international levels. It is comprised of 80 projects, with an estimated EC contribution of € 340 million and € 60 million in funding from EU Member States.

The Directorate-General for International Partnerships of the European Commission (DG INTPA) has developed a Global Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (GM&EF) for the DeSIRA initiative. The GM&EF comprises 6 outputs, 4 outcomes and the stated impact, and 28 GDIs.

The Annual Global Report 2023 (AGR 2023) is based on the results of 46 DeSIRA projects having at least 2 years of implementation as of 12/2022. 

Outputs

1. Multi-Stakeholder Mechanisms (MSIPs) 

  - 234 MSIPs developed or strengthened across international, national, and local levels to facilitate interactions among actors for co-designing climate-smart and agroecological innovations. 

  - Challenges: Varying effectiveness and sustainability of these mechanisms, with a need for further reinforcement.  

2. Innovations at Farm and Beyond Farm Levels 

  - Supported co-design and deployment of 952 farm-level innovations and numerous beyond farm-level innovations related to natural resource management and value chains. 

  - Introduction of over 500 new crop varieties and 179 institutional innovations. 

  - Focus: Climate relevance and agroecological principles.  

3. Farmer Reach and Capacity Development 

  - Approximately 250,000 smallholder farmers reached; 

  - Capacity Building: Strengthened capacities of 2,626 researchers and 11,956 technical/development staff; support for 338 Master and 203 PhD students. 

  - Training and Education: Development or upgrading of curricula and training packages by 11 projects, leading to 22 revised academic modules and 12 new training materials. 

4. Knowledge Production and Dissemination 

  - Significant increase in science-based knowledge and evidence with 538 communication products and 145 technical products from R&I projects. 

  - Cumulative number of scientific publications at 54; efforts to increase knowledge accessibility through databases. 

5. Policy Outputs 

  -  Varied levels of policy activities; 28 R&I projects had policy objectives. 

  -  Production of 25 policy briefs and 29 policy dialogues focusing on diverse topics, with increased engagement expected. 

Outcomes

1. Farm-Level Changes and Resilience 

  - 187 climate-smart or agroecological innovations adopted by smallholder farmers, benefiting approximately 91,213 farmers. 

  - 18 projects reported having dissemination and scaling strategies. 

2. Institutional and Innovation Capacity Strengthening 

  -  Enhanced capacities of around 575 organizations, including national research entities, FOs, and NGOs. 

  -  Improved research capacities and stakeholder interactions; significant progress in institutional capacity building among key African AR&EOs. 

3. Private Sector and Value Chains Support 

  - Support for 58 Value Chains and strengthening of 182 agriculture and food-related MSMEs. 

  - Development of 57 innovations including new products and business models. 

4. Policy Influence 

  - 22 policy outcomes from institutional projects and influence on 42 policies by R&I projects, with a focus on creating enabling environments for scaling innovations.  

Impact

- Difficult to measure due to project diversity and the long-term nature of innovation processes.

- Positive socio-economic changes reported for nearly 21,000 farmers, with improved agroecosystems from seven R&I projects.

- Over 310,000 potential beneficiaries identified for future dissemination or scaling of innovations.

- Limited mainstreaming and documentation of contributions to women’s empowerment, though some gender-focused initiatives exist.

-  Potential influence on agriculture and food systems through strengthened organizations and multi-stakeholder policies.