GCRF - Building REearch Capacity for sustainable water and food security In drylands of sub-saharan Africa (BRECcIA)"
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Southampton
Department Name: Sch of Geography & Environmental Sci
Abstract
The overall aim of this proposal is to develop research capacity and strengthen existing research capabilities in three sub-Saharan countries (Kenya, Malawi, and Ghana) in the related areas of water and food security. Climate variability has an enormous impact on livelihoods across much of SSA, where rain-fed agricultural production characterizes local subsistence and is the mainstay of most national economies. Coupled with rising demand from growing populations, urbanization, and rising incomes, climate change is projected to lead to cuts in GDP of up to 6%, setting the stage for migration and conflict. For these reasons, water security is considered one of the top global risks to development. Water security is also fundamental to attaining many of the Sustainable Development Goals, being a constraint on meeting a range of challenges including food security, access to clean water, and resilience to hydrological hazards. At the same time, attaining food security is a priority of national policy in SSA countries and is a key building block of development.
The reasons for insufficient progress in attaining water and food security are complex, but requires fine-scale, locally relevant research and solutions that are best developed and tested by local researchers and practitioners. Although capacity to carry out research in this area in SSA countries is variable, there are a number of fundamental gaps in the required skills and resources. To address these, our project will develop and implement a comprehensive and flexible programme of activities aimed at strengthening research capacity between the UK and SSA countries while addressing the grand challenges around water and food security. We will develop a pipeline of activities that is guided by a set of key research questions and implemented in the context of a collaborative network of researchers and practitioners that can sustain and propagate capacity and knowledge more broadly.
Our focus is on three countries in SSA: Kenya, Malawi, and Ghana. These are representative of different geographical, climate, socio-economic, cultural and institutional settings and challenges that will allow for comparative research and exchange of ideas, and the development of a richer collaborative network. These countries are also where we have complementary, ongoing university-level research projects and collaborations focused on various aspects of water/food security with institutions at different levels of capacity development. The programme of capacity building activities will be tailored to each institution and its goals through a process of co-evaluation of needs, co-development of activities and co-implementation, including south-south capacity building and knowledge exchange.
The reasons for insufficient progress in attaining water and food security are complex, but requires fine-scale, locally relevant research and solutions that are best developed and tested by local researchers and practitioners. Although capacity to carry out research in this area in SSA countries is variable, there are a number of fundamental gaps in the required skills and resources. To address these, our project will develop and implement a comprehensive and flexible programme of activities aimed at strengthening research capacity between the UK and SSA countries while addressing the grand challenges around water and food security. We will develop a pipeline of activities that is guided by a set of key research questions and implemented in the context of a collaborative network of researchers and practitioners that can sustain and propagate capacity and knowledge more broadly.
Our focus is on three countries in SSA: Kenya, Malawi, and Ghana. These are representative of different geographical, climate, socio-economic, cultural and institutional settings and challenges that will allow for comparative research and exchange of ideas, and the development of a richer collaborative network. These countries are also where we have complementary, ongoing university-level research projects and collaborations focused on various aspects of water/food security with institutions at different levels of capacity development. The programme of capacity building activities will be tailored to each institution and its goals through a process of co-evaluation of needs, co-development of activities and co-implementation, including south-south capacity building and knowledge exchange.
Planned Impact
BRECcIA will deliver impact through a programme of capacity development, capability enhancement, partnership building and targeted research in sustainable water and food security. It will engage with stakeholders, including community level, national and regional bodies. BRECcIA will target research to the most vulnerable ultimate beneficiaries living under the poverty line. Analysis of these vulnerabilities and risks will focus the research towards the needs of their arid and semi-arid land livelihoods and ecosystem services. It will also assess the governance and institutional support required to understand and integrate complex relationships into adaptation, planning and policy development.
We will carry out a stocktaking and gap analysis with project partners to identify specific requirements and opportunities across a wide group of individuals and institutions. We will directly reach researchers, managers and professional support staff in five academic institutions in three countries and in three regional centres, with programmes to extend this to a broader audience. A programme of capacity development includes research skills across disciplines, and cross-disciplinary and integrative research via research workshops, researcher exchanges, specific skills training, and summer schools. Capacity will be targeted from early career researchers to PI level. Capacity development will also address professional infrastructure through a research development framework that seeks to support individual researchers, institutional research strategy, management and support services. We aim to enhance transfer between organisations via UK-south capacity development activities and through south-south training and knowledge transfer.
Stakeholder organisations at sub-national, national, regional and international levels will be 'co-mapped' and their requirements and ability to make use of research outputs co-assessed within an inception stage during country-specific and regional workshops. National and regional workshops will be held to engage with key stakeholders, to understand the decision making process and to tailor research requirements and outputs to address key challenges. A Theory of Change will be agreed among the research collaborators and in consultation with stakeholders to resource/refine the programme of activities.
A Science Advisory Board will be convened to support research project selection, critical assessment of project outcomes, and monitoring. The project will capitalise on existing relationships with regional networks and intergovernmental organisations across water, agro-ecological and agricultural sectors with remits that match many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We will work with four regional / international Networks to provide a focus for regional transferability across water and agricultural research, and sustainable development challenges.
Project research outputs will be presented to industry via the British Science Festival and other Knowledge Transfer (KTN) events. We will draw from University of Southampton and other innovation and entrepreneurship resources to facilitate development and commercialization of technologies relevant to improving water and food security. An Industry Advisory Board will be appointed and we will carry out "Industry Workshops" to coincide with regional workshops in Africa.
Outreach and Dissemination will be achieved through a set of activities showcasing planned project developments and new partnerships and opportunities (particularly in the UK) to further develop and transfer knowledge created, and for stakeholders to provide feedback and context. We will provide a legacy of cross-disciplinary and cross-organisation capacity building which will provide a self-sustaining network of north-south researchers and a framework that enables international collaborative partnerships.
We will carry out a stocktaking and gap analysis with project partners to identify specific requirements and opportunities across a wide group of individuals and institutions. We will directly reach researchers, managers and professional support staff in five academic institutions in three countries and in three regional centres, with programmes to extend this to a broader audience. A programme of capacity development includes research skills across disciplines, and cross-disciplinary and integrative research via research workshops, researcher exchanges, specific skills training, and summer schools. Capacity will be targeted from early career researchers to PI level. Capacity development will also address professional infrastructure through a research development framework that seeks to support individual researchers, institutional research strategy, management and support services. We aim to enhance transfer between organisations via UK-south capacity development activities and through south-south training and knowledge transfer.
Stakeholder organisations at sub-national, national, regional and international levels will be 'co-mapped' and their requirements and ability to make use of research outputs co-assessed within an inception stage during country-specific and regional workshops. National and regional workshops will be held to engage with key stakeholders, to understand the decision making process and to tailor research requirements and outputs to address key challenges. A Theory of Change will be agreed among the research collaborators and in consultation with stakeholders to resource/refine the programme of activities.
A Science Advisory Board will be convened to support research project selection, critical assessment of project outcomes, and monitoring. The project will capitalise on existing relationships with regional networks and intergovernmental organisations across water, agro-ecological and agricultural sectors with remits that match many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We will work with four regional / international Networks to provide a focus for regional transferability across water and agricultural research, and sustainable development challenges.
Project research outputs will be presented to industry via the British Science Festival and other Knowledge Transfer (KTN) events. We will draw from University of Southampton and other innovation and entrepreneurship resources to facilitate development and commercialization of technologies relevant to improving water and food security. An Industry Advisory Board will be appointed and we will carry out "Industry Workshops" to coincide with regional workshops in Africa.
Outreach and Dissemination will be achieved through a set of activities showcasing planned project developments and new partnerships and opportunities (particularly in the UK) to further develop and transfer knowledge created, and for stakeholders to provide feedback and context. We will provide a legacy of cross-disciplinary and cross-organisation capacity building which will provide a self-sustaining network of north-south researchers and a framework that enables international collaborative partnerships.
Organisations
- University of Southampton (Lead Research Organisation)
- Arts and Humanities Research Council (Co-funder)
- Economic and Social Research Council (Co-funder)
- Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (Collaboration)
- Forestry Research Institute of Malawi (Collaboration)
- The Waternet Trust (Collaboration)
- Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) (Collaboration)
- Wajir County Government (Collaboration)
- Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services Malawi (Collaboration)
- University of Sheffield (Collaboration)
- Technical University of Kenya (Collaboration)
- International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) (Collaboration)
- KENYATTA UNIVERSITY (Collaboration)
- Southern African Development Community (Collaboration)
- Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (Collaboration)
- Mzuzu University (Collaboration)
- Kenya Forest Service (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI (Collaboration)
- Kulima Integrated Development Solutions (Collaboration)
- Leadership for Environment and Development Southern and Eastern Africa (Collaboration)
- National Drought Management Authority (Collaboration)
- University for Development Studies (Collaboration)
- University of Plymouth (Collaboration)
- WORLD AGROFORESTRY CENTRE (Collaboration)
- AGRHYMET Regional Centre (ARC) (Collaboration)
- Regional Centre For Mapping Resource For Development (Collaboration)
- Malawi Government (Collaboration)
- BRUNEL UNIVERSITY LONDON (Collaboration)
- Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development (Collaboration)
- University of Central Lancashire (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF GHANA (Collaboration)
- Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (Collaboration)
- Environmental Protection Agency, Ghana (Collaboration)
- World Vision (Collaboration)
- KING'S COLLEGE LONDON (Collaboration)
- University of Malawi (Collaboration)
- Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy (Collaboration)
Publications
Anghileri D
(2024)
Understanding the maize yield gap in Southern Malawi by integrating ground and remote-sensing data, models, and household surveys
in Agricultural Systems
Anghileri D
(2022)
Comparison of hydrological and vegetation remote sensing datasets as proxies for rainfed maize yield in Malawi
in Agricultural Water Management
Basheer M
(2023)
Negotiating Nile infrastructure management should consider climate change uncertainties
in Nature Climate Change
Basheer M
(2023)
Cooperative adaptive management of the Nile River with climate and socio-economic uncertainties
in Nature Climate Change
Cecil M
(2023)
How much control do smallholder maize farmers have over yield?
in Field Crops Research
| Title | A Tale of Two Stories - Impact of Prosopis Julifiora on environment and socio-economic status of communities in Kenya and Malawi |
| Description | A documentary on the impact on the invasive plant Prosopis Julifiora on environment and socio-economic status of communities in Kenya and Malawi |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | None yet |
| Title | BRECcIA Promotional Video |
| Description | 5 minutes summary video for the BRECcIA project. To be used in external engagement |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | Used in stakeholder workshops for the project across Ghana, Kenya and Malawi |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cysMNloz7_4&feature=youtu.be |
| Title | BRECcIA Promotional Video (short stats) |
| Description | 1min 30seconds shorter promotional video for BRECcIA covering high level statistics |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | Used in promotional and engagement activities throughout Kenya, Malawi and Ghana |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg2jMzFm3s8 |
| Title | Introductory video: The nexus between policies water and food security in Drylands of Malawi Research project |
| Description | This is a short film that describes the research we are doing as part of the Small Research Project of the same name (ES) in Malawi. It gives background to the research idea and what the project indents to address. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Impact | Not known |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1APQBkBSQgY |
| Title | Malawi Cropland: Recent changes in cropland and productivity indicate unsustainable cropland expansion in Malawi |
| Description | This is a policy brief translated in to video for the Small Research Project "Monitoring Agriculture intensification and expansion for measuring food security in Sub-Saharan Africa". It targets policy makers and the general public, showing how cropland has been changing, its implication and implications for policy. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | No notable impacts yet as yet to be shared with target audience. |
| URL | https://drive.google.com/file/d/1unCwlLUZrvwMPhd7rF8Txhclf1c2DHVp/view?usp=sharing |
| Title | Subsistence Agriculture Farmer Viewpoint Video - for ESRC Fesitval of Social Sciences schools event (Southampton) (2021) |
| Description | A 1.5-minutes video interview with a smallholder farmer in Kasungu, Malawi, with her field of maize, to present at the ESCR Festival of Social Sciences schools event, organised by University of Southampton. The aim of this virtual session was to engage with young people use social science perspectives to understand connections between food, culture and climate, and how they differ between Kenya, Malawi, Ghana and the UK. This video was used to provide primary viewpoints from a smallholder farmer involved in subsistence agriculture. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | Middle/High School children (14-18) in the UK, Kenya and Malawi were introduced to new knowledge and different perspectives on the subject areas, and had the opportunity to interact with each other across the different countries. |
| URL | https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DS7Lxt3Ik2X__k5DpKrDPsgrVijH2M_t/view?usp=sharing |
| Title | Subsistence Agriculture Video - for ESRC Fesitval of Social Sciences schools event (Southampton) |
| Description | A 4-minutes doodly animation video, introducing subsistence agriculture, to present at the ESCR Festival of Social Sciences schools event, organised by University of Southampton. The aim of this virtual session was to engage with young people use social science perspectives to understand connections between food, culture and climate, and how they differ between Kenya, Malawi, Ghana and the UK. This video was used to introduce subsistence agriculture. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | Middle/High School children (14-18) in the UK, Kenya and Malawi were introduced to new knowledge and different perspectives on the subject areas, and had the opportunity to interact with each other between the different countries. |
| URL | https://drive.google.com/file/d/134fpVZQZzssejQfAI7s4jgKT1RlC7YFe/view?usp=sharing |
| Title | The BRECcIA Way : Inclusive and equitable ways for global challenge research |
| Description | Researching global challenges often involves collaborations with researchers across disciplines, career levels, institutions and countries. This presents many challenges and opportunities for inclusive and equitable partnerships that provide the best outcomes for all involved. This podcast provides some reflections on the approach of the UKRI-funded BRECcIA project (https://www.gcrf-breccia.com), which brought together researchers and research managers from Ghana, Malawi, Kenya, Niger, Botswana and the UK around water and food security research. It provides some suggestions on how to support and provide opportunities for individuals and teams to contribute to research, leadership and learning, and network building in inclusive and equitable ways. A full version of the conversation between Prof. Justin Sheffield and Dr. Julie Reeves is available (link coming soon). |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Impact | None yet |
| URL | https://youtu.be/t9uz6e-sXyI |
| Title | Upscaling Sustainable Food and Water Security in Drylands of Sub Saharan Africa; BRECcIA Open Special Session, WaterNet 2020 Symposium |
| Description | Video prepared for the BRECcIA Special Session at the WaterNet 2020 Symposium. https://waternetsymposium.dryfta.com/ |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Impact | Questions from amongst the 50+ session participants were raised regarding information included in the video contributing to discussions and information exchanges on research upscaling, and the sharing of the video in advance of the session on social media received engagement from followers and other organisations involved in the symposium. |
| URL | https://waternetsymposium.dryfta.com/program-schedule/program/13/upscaling-sustainable-food-and-wate... |
| Title | Utilisation patterns and management of the invasive species Prosopsis Juliflora in Turkana, Kenya |
| Description | BRECcIA researcher Professor John Obiri of the Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology in Western Kenya presents his research project on the "Utilisation patterns and management of the invasive species Prosopsis Juliflora in the drylands of Turkana, Kenya" |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Impact | Sharing project results from research on invasive vegetation species in Kenya. Film used in BRECcIA Malawi stakeholder groups, instigating a similar project to work in Malawi also. |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGyVJ0qF5bI |
| Title | West Pokot Pastoralist Recent Climate Change adaptation strategies: Camel Rearing |
| Description | In the video, the findings show a shift on how Pokot Pastoralists who have been for along period perceived to be hostile and warring are changing by embracing peace with other pastoralist communities through Camel rearing as an adaptive strategy to climate change impacts. It was created for the Small Research Project (DN): Trends in Climate variability, land use cover changes, watershed governance and it's implications on Food Security in the Suam River Basin, West Pokot County, Kenya. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | In recent engagements with stakeholders in West Pokot, Camel rearing has been noted as key approach to ending perennial conflicts among the pastoralist in Northwestern Kenya Counties. |
| URL | https://www.gcrf-breccia.com/2021/11/20/west-pokot-pastoralist-recent-climate-change-adaptation-stra... |
| Title | West Pokot Pastoralist Recent Climate Change adaptation strategies: Livestock Migration |
| Description | The video presents recent adaptive strategies to climate change impacts that are practiced by the pastoralists in West Pokot County, Kenya. Some on the strategies are contributing negatively to other developmental sectors such as boy child education. It was created for the Small Research Project (DN): Trends in Climate variability, land use cover changes, watershed governance and it's implications on Food Security in the Suam River Basin, West Pokot County, Kenya. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | In recent engagements with policy makers in West Pokot county, the content of the video was acknowledged to be true picture of the situation on the ground. As result, the video was noted to be one of key materials to be used during the review of policies in the next West Pokot County Integrated Development Plan. |
| URL | https://www.gcrf-breccia.com/2021/11/20/west-pokot-pastoralist-recent-climate-change-adaptation-stra... |
| Description | RESEARCH 1. Co-development of multidisciplinary research projects The most significant achievement from the research was to co-develop with ECRs and Co-Is across 11 institutions and 7 countries a set of 27 small research projects (SRPs) and to synthesise these into a set of 8 large research projects (LRPs) that enabled cross-country collaboration and comparison. The SRPs were each led by an ECR who developed the research ideas and approach, with each project aiming for at least one peer-reviewed research publication and one other output, such as a policy brief, blog or outreach activity. 2. Key research findings on water and food security. Specific highlights of these projects include: 1) New knowledge has been generated on water-food-health interactions focusing on how downstream flooding from dams impacts on microbiological contamination of water points, and on outpatient attendance and incidences of diarrhoea within the White Volta Basin. 2) Research on invasive species in Malawi and Kenya has surprisingly shown that Prosopis (Mesquite plants) are considered invasive in some parts and a livelihood option in others through fodder and charcoal production. 3) Research on variability in the drylands has influenced academic and policy thinking on drylands by shifting perceptions that they are low productivity and vulnerable systems to appreciating they are well-adapted resource systems, which has been distilled into awareness raising and educational outputs. 4) Research on food availability has developed cross-scale approaches to identifying crop yield gaps from field to country scale. CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT OF RESEARCHERS AND RESEARCH MANAGERS The most significant achievements included training 449 people in research management and the establishment of a network of over 79 members. As a direct result of this training, a high level delegation from one of the partner institutions (MMUST) visited the University of Pretoria for a benchmarking exchange visit to learn how to set up a research management office. 3. Capacity Development processes and model. We found that to effectively enhance individual capability we needed to establish an 'enabling environment'. Our model of capacity development integrated research methods, research leadership and management alongside personal effectiveness, rather than treated as separate matters for differing groups of staff. We provided training 'on need' rather than 'on demand', and drew on internal knowledge & experience for research training purposes. Our philosophical approach of 'everyone putting in and everyone taking out' proved the best way to build capacity in an international collaborative group as it was inclusive, agile and responsive to need. BRECcIA effectively had to become 'an institution', a term coined by Co-I Prof. Joy Obando. 4. Understanding Institutional capacity. In developing research projects with our partner institutions in DAC countries, as the lead institution we found many of our initial assumptions were misplaced. Institutional infrastructures, particularly around recruitment, finance and research management, were not as anticipated in the bid. The lack of a researcher pipeline was a recruitment challenge; financial structures and processes did not align easily; and there was an expectation in the bid that research managers and offices were ready for training, when they did not exist in some areas, making the role of SARIMA difficult initially. |
| Exploitation Route | RESEARCH FINDINGS - Hydrological and crop modelling tools and related datasets will be used by the AGRHYMET regional climate centre to improve their operational provision of outlooks of droughts, floods and crop impacts to countries of West Africa. - We expect the Kenyan drought monitoring system will be used to provide input into the Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook Forum, in order to reduce climate-related risks and support sustainable development. - All researchers in Kenya, Malawi and Ghana are working with policy- and decision-makers to change perceptions and community/government frameworks relating to their research areas. - We anticipate the outputs of the flooding-health research in Ghana to be used by local government to reduce flood related health impacts. NON-RESEARCH FINDINGS - Our capacity development models/processes etc. will be collated into a Toolkit of case studies and advice for institutions in our network and elsewhere to draw on. - We anticipate the Valuing Variability short course and curriculum module to train practitioners and students in Kenya, and be implemented by partner institutions and others. - We expect the MOOC on interdisciplinary approaches to water and food security challenges to improve research skills in early career researchers. - ReMNet intends to continue to share best practice between members and to enhance their skills and knowledge around research management and development. - We expect MMUST to establish a Research Management office, a Directorate of Institutional Advancement within the VC's office, and a MoU with University of Pretoria. ADDITIONAL RELEVANT URLS TO OUTPUTS & OUTCOMES OF THE PROJECT: - https://www.gcrf-breccia.com/resources/ - Linking to resources such as the MOOC, Capacity Building Toolkit, Professional Development Resources, Data, Networks Mapper Tool package, and various publication types - Blog posts relating to some activities, outcomes and impact from the project: https://www.gcrf-breccia.com/news/ - Kenyatta University CPD /Valuing Variability project short course on "Working with Environmental Variability for Enhanced Water and Food Security in the Drylands": http://cdcs.ku.ac.ke/drylands-course |
| Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink Communities and Social Services/Policy Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Education Environment Healthcare Other |
| URL | https://www.gcrf-breccia.com/ |
| Description | SOCIETAL & ECONOMIC IMPACT ON DAC LIST COUNTRIES BRECcIA has contributed to generation of research knowledge that has influenced practice in the following ways: (SRP is Small research project; LRP is a Large research project) At least 105 organisations and institutions, not counting policy makers and other individuals, from Kenya, Malawi, Ghana, UK and internationally have actively been engaged with BRECcIA throughout the project lifetime. Benefits to these stakeholders are in the form of research capacity development, researcher training through working with BRECcIA researchers, policy recommendations related to improving livelihoods, increased recognition and awareness for a variety of food & water security issues in SSA drylands, and policy recommendations to inform better governance. The SRP led by Kenyatta University, Kenya on "Evaluation of Landuse change on water & food security in Lagha Bor catchment, Wajir County, Kenya" produced research outputs and discussions arising thereof with the county administration that have provided information assisting in selection of groundwater exploration sites. The SRP led by MMUST on "Climate and Land use changes Watershed Governance and Food Security- West Pokot County" has provided research findings and recommendations which are being used by policy makers in the review of West Pokot County Integrated Plan in Kenya. Camel rearing was marked as one strategy to bring together communities as a peace building initiative in West Pokot. The enhancement of research capacity at AGRHYMET (a specialized institution for Drought Control in the Sahel) has contributed to it obtaining accreditation with the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) as a regional climate centre. AGRHYMET in particular needed to enhance its capabilities in hydrological monitoring and forecasting for drought/flood early warning, which will be disseminated across West Africa to stakeholders ranging from national governments to smallholder farmers. BRECcIA Malawian team members influenced the Ministry of Agriculture's thinking on seed policy and climate change effects on agricultural production and planning for improvement to access to water through irrigation and boreholes. BRECcIA Malawian team members contributed to the Malawi government national position document for COP26, by including information on connections between water-food-energy in the context of climate change and adaptation (Sep 2021). BRECcIA team members developed and delivered an outreach event "What's The Connection Between Food, Culture And Climate?" as part of the 2021 ESRC Festival of Social Science (FOSS), which reached 17 middle-school students from Ghana, Kenya and Malawi schools, plus 3 UK students, all of whom benefited from cross-cultural communication in an educational context (Nov 2021). BRECcIA collaborated with UNESCO-IHP to showcase the Valuing Variability team's research at an official pre-COP26 event (UNESCO-IHP, AGWA and ICIWaRM Webinar Series 'Adaptation in an age of uncertainty: tools for climate-resilient water management approaches': Facing Uncertainty in Water Management: From Urban Water Supply to Agriculture, 22nd January 2022), and raised awareness with senior scientists and practitioners. Further funding has been enabled by BRECcIA: - University of Sheffield: - Henry Hunga (University of Malawi); University of Sheffield STFC Food Network+ Grant; A feasibility study of using DNA sequencing and Blockchain technology to detect and track counterfeit seeds in Malawi (£10,000; Oct 2020 - 2021) - GCRF funding under the Clusters programme for the project "Bridging national strategy on sustainable development of water-energy-food systems to local scale needs in Malawi" that brought together GCRF GROW projects BRECcIA, AFRICAP and FutureDams, plus other international projects to bear on water-energy-food challenges in Malawi (£130,167, May 20 - Nov 21). - University of Southampton appointed in UK Department for International Development DFID PO 8373: International Multi-Disciplinary Programme Framework Agreement (IMDP) - Preferred Supplier LOT 10 - Low Value Research - GCRF Strategic Development Funding between University of Southampton and Technical University of Kenya (Co-I Olang) to explore how concepts of 'becoming an ecological citizen' and 'non-elite environmentalism' can be adapted as lenses through which agro-food practices respond (£33,466; Oct-Dec 2019). - Funding for capital/infrastructure for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Services for Agriculture in Malawi under the Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) (LEAD, Malawi) (EUR 10,670, 2018-2019). ADDRESSING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS SDG 2 - Zero Hunger: The SRP lead on "Climate change resilience gaps" presented results to policy makers, and it is anticipated that they will use the findings to adjust policy interventions towards building climate change resilience for food security in Malawi. SDG 4 - Quality Education: Through the SARIMA training, ReMNet, the Food Beliefs work in Ghana, and the Valuing Variability courses in Kenya we are enhancing life long learning among researchers, research managers, and students. In addition, feedback to stakeholders and the communities we have worked with has generated excitement and 'further recommendations'. The work among Shea growing communities, for instance. led to women respondents expressing their contentment in being highly involved in the study as they are usually considered as only a minor part of similar studies and not the main focus of attention. SDG 2/6/13: The project has tackled research challenges around risk assessment, monitoring and early warning of flood and drought hazards (SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation), which also contributes to SDG 13 (Climate Action). This has led to uptake of tools and datasets by AGRHYMET as part of their provision of flood and drought early warning information and impacts on food security (SDG 2 - Zero Hunger). SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth and SDG 15 - Life on Land: Our Valuing Variability short course (pilot workshop in 2022) and work on Invasive Species: Prosopis, have already changed practitioners' perceptions of how they think about and design policies in respect of the drylands and vegetation in Kenya. This will affect livelihoods in the drylands and also where there are invasive species. IMPACTS RELATING TO GENDER AND GENDER EQUALITY BRECcIA embedded gender considerations into all levels of its work, from the Strategic Advisory Board to Early Career Researchers and local community members' engagement with fieldwork. This enabled deeper and broader understanding of water and food security challenges within the countries and regionally, and allowed us to come up with data and policy briefs that address these challenges. The project also sought to mainstream gender considerations as a focus within the research themes and working groups, and focused much of its mentoring on gender considerations. Almost half of the Strategic Advisory Board and of the group of Early Career Researchers are women. The Southampton-based Management Group was evenly divided between men and women, as was the Executive Management Team. Team leads and members integrated gender considerations into both their research questions and their methods. Thus, for instance, in rural communities where gender differentiation and inequalities were present, researchers were careful to separate focus groups by gender so that both men and women felt freer to speak. They were also careful to include both male and female researchers to better relate to community members. Gender was also embedded in our research from the policy to the household level. We asked questions such as 'what is the gendered context for decision-making around resilience?' 'how is resilience differently understood from a gendered perspective?' 'what are the gendered dimensions of livestock practices?' 'how do political economic bottlenecks produce differential gender impacts?' 'do food/nutrition and irrigation policies adequately incorporate gender into their frameworks?' 'are women marginalized in the shea value chain?' and 'are livelihood shocks and coping strategies gendered?' For example, During the data collection for our small research project focusing on women Shea processors in Northern Ghana, respondents to the study, who were mainly women, expressed their contentment in being highly involved in such an exercise whereby they are usually considered only a part of similar studies and not the main focus. We were careful to determine opportunities and needs within the context of traditional practices, such as around resource use and land ownership. Thus, for instance, a matrilineal society would have different opportunities for both men and women than a patrilineal one. Any solutions that we posed were thought through with those constraints in mind. With its focus on capacity building and with gender embedded within that focus, BRECcIA was able to train numerous early career researchers from and in Sub-Saharan Africa, including through annual workshops, training days, and a field school we were able to hold in Malawi before Covid made it impossible for the UK team to travel. ECRs have presented at many conferences and have had opportunities to help to shape the regional and national policies of their countries. Our original benchmarking data, which included data from the three years prior to joining BRECcIA, showed that women early career researchers published less in all categories (journal articles, theses, technical reports) compared to men. Of the 24 early career researchers who responded to the end of project survey (11 men, 13 women), men reported publishing 15 papers and women reported publishing 14 papers, showing an improvement in gender differences in this output. The early career researchers reported an improvement in their skills in being attentive to the significance of gender in research with 83% of ECRs reporting that they improved somewhat or improved considerably in this skill due to their participation in BRECcIA. Many of our ECRs have already gone on to a higher education level (MA to PhD, for instance, or PhD to PostDoc), have become University lecturers, or will be working on other projects. This generation will then train the next generation. Equal numbers of women and men in BRECcIA have achieved lectureships, and the women have secured more research positions than the men (at the time of reporting). The Southampton team also included early career researchers from China, Italy, South Africa, the UK and the United States. Most were women and several have already gone on to other opportunities, one at a UK-based non-profit organization and another at a US cultural and educational institution. ACADEMIC IMPACT - Peer reviewed publications: 13 journal papers, 1 book, 1 book chapter as of 12 March 2022. - BRECcIA led special sessions at the Waternet conferences in 2019, 2020 and 2021 that reached 100s of academics, scientists and practitioners across southern Africa and rest of the world. BRECcIA enabled WaterNet students from Southern African countries including Botswana, South Africa, Malawi and Zimbabwe to attend the conference and get inspiration and novel research insights to take forward in their careers. - BRECcIA outputs were presented at many conferences including: work on the Policy LRP and SRP have been presented at international conferences such as Waternet and the Great Lakes water catchment management conference (GLACAM). - We held a day conference on international research capacity development, "Transformational international research partnerships: What next for Capacity Development?" on 9th December 2021 with 13 speakers from 11 institutions from Europe and Africa, and attracting over 60 attendees. Common issues in capacity development and international partnerships were explored, and some key recommendations were collected. - Climate Exp0 - in collaboration with the COP26 Universities Network, BRECcIA took part in numerous sessions and panels to present research to thousands of academics and scientists to inform new research avenues. 1000s of researchers were exposed to BRECcIA research, both in summary (30 SRPs + 8 LRPS combined into a summary poster) and for individual SRPs (Daniela Angileri, Matt Kandel). BRECcIA therefore officially contributed to a COP26 event. - An international expert workshop on "hydrological and agronomic models and their coupling" was held in Cotonou in January 2022 led by the AGRHYMET team, with participants from Benin, Senegal, Germany, UK, Niger, Italy, France, USA, Canada, and Burkina Faso. The workshop brought together international experts in modelling to review the state of the art and the prospects for future developments in capability in the region. - Research networks have been developed and strengthened: a) Connection has been made with researchers and project managers of 7 other GCRF funded projects on understanding the impacts of COVID-19 on the projects. b) Organisation of a thematic session on water security at the American Geophysical Union conference in Dec 2021 which has resulted in an invitation to organise a journal special issue (which is currently under discussion). c) Connections made by various BRECcIA team members to: Global Land Programme Network Africa Food Network and Innovate UK KTN LEAD Fellows Network One Planet fellowship network The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) RUFORUM network. AfriAlliance Coalition of European Lobbies for Eastern African Pastoralism CELEP Gobeshona International Conference 2: International Centre for Climate Change and Development ICCCAD Gobeshona Global Conference 2 | International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists Home | International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists Initiative (iyrp.info) Decentralised Climate Fund Alliance Devolved Climate Finance (DCF) Alliance | International Institute for Environment and Development (iied.org) |
| First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Environment,Healthcare |
| Impact Types | Societal Economic Policy & public services |
| Description | AAS/ARMA IRMSDP: Workshop series 'Cradle to Grave - the lifecycle of a project' J.Lawn |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | A series for experienced research or programme managers to hone skills in programme design, implementation and close-out. The series utilised the research management experience of GCRF BRECcIA and AFRICAP team members to deliver a webinar series to professional staff from the all over the globe. 177 applications were received for the 35 places on the course. The course is being recorded and will be released as a toolkit in the future. |
| URL | https://africap.info/call-for-applications-cradle-to-grave-a-research-programme-management-workshop-... |
| Description | AGRHYMET Expert workshop, Benin (Jan 2022) |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or Improved professional practice |
| Description | BRECcIA Impact virtual training (Mar 2021) |
| Geographic Reach | Africa |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Honing and practising engagement, impact and dissemination skills - to prepare researchers for reporting back to stakeholders, writing policy briefs and influencing officials. Evidence being realised in stakeholder engagement meetings in Kenya, Malawi and Ghana in March 2022, meetings with Ministers (Malawi), and media appearances. |
| Description | BRECcIA Summer School, Malawi, July 2019 |
| Geographic Reach | Africa |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Consultation with village communities in Malawi lead to the research team understanding that extra boreholes had been promised for the village, but not delivered. The summer school students were able to successfully bring this issue up with the Planning Extension Officer for the region at their stakeholder meeting, and start the process delivering new boreholes for water collection. |
| URL | https://www.gcrf-breccia.com/2019/10/23/first-breccia-summer-school/ |
| Description | BRECcIA Virtual Masterclass - April 2021 (Language, discourse & research) |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Impact: Enhance professional research capability of all ECRs and Co-Is on the project. |
| Description | BRECcIA Virtual Masterclass - May 2021 (Lifecyle of International Research Project) |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Enhance professional research capability to generate outputs, outcomes and impact on BRECcIA and for future research projects |
| Description | December 2021 Virtual BRECcIA ECR Conference with policy makers |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | This feedback informed changes to policy recommendations to be adopted by policy makers in Kenya, Ghana and Malawi after BRECcIA's end and will enhance researcher's capability towards how they interact with and consider policy making in the future, thus, contributing to increased researcher capacity to carry out impactful research and create positive policy/practice change to improve sustainable Water & Food Security in these 3 countries. |
| Description | Ghana Policy Summer School, November 2020 |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | The Science to Policy workshop was organised by the BRECcIA Ghana project team as part of its annual Summer School events for the year 2020, in Kamas. The workshop was aimed at interacting with key national level stakeholders involved in policy and decision making relating to water and food security, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Parliamentarians drawn from the BRECcIA study areas. Beyond engaging with these stakeholders and providing an update of the project to them, the Science to Policy Workshop was aimed at engaging with key stakeholders that would serve as the entry point for BRECcIA research evidence into policy. Specifically, the workshop sought to achieve the following objectives: • Present evidence from Small Research Projects (SRPs) to policy makers • Engage with policy makers on how to impact policy from the BRECcIA research • Synthesise research evidence and networking with policy makers • Develop synergies and collaborative links with policy makers |
| URL | http://www.gcrf-breccia.com/2020/12/07/ghana-science-to-policy-workshop-2020/ |
| Description | July 2021 BRECcIA ECR Conference (virtual, internal) |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | All ECRs within BRECcIA improved their presentation skills, which are being utilised in stakeholder engagement activities towards the end of the project to create wider project impact. |
| Description | Kenya Policy Summer School, Nov 2020 |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | BRECcIA's Kenya team organised virtual and face to face sessions under the BRECcIA 2020 hybrid policy summer school. The Kenya summer school was organised with both face to face and virtual sessions, with virtual sessions covering issues around writing policy briefs, public engagement and regional and international policy processes including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The face-to-face session was conducted individually by the country teams. Policy makers who were relevant and/or involved in the various SRP projects were invited to participate. Participants were from a wide range of areas focusing on those in national and county governments as well as non-governmental organisations such as the ASAL (Arid and Semi-Arid Lands) stakeholder's forum and AFIDEP. Those who could not attend the face-to-face sessions were able to join virtually on zoom. The session was meant to serve as a practical way for the Early Career Researchers (ECRs) to gain skills in engaging with policy makers. Objectives of the Kenya policy summer school session included presenting evidence from Kenyan Small Research Projects (SRPs), engaging and networking with policy makers on how to impact policy using evidence gained from our research, and to develop synergies and collaborative links with policy makers in food and water security. |
| URL | http://www.gcrf-breccia.com/2020/12/18/breccia-summer-school-policy-session-2020-nairobi-kenya/ |
| Description | Kenya rainfall resilience SRP (SR) - Influence on County Integrated Development Plan |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | LEAD Malawi SH event - Minister of Agriculture re: irrigation farming (2022) |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or Improved professional practice |
| Description | Malawi Policy Summer School, Nov 2020 |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | The 2020 Summer School was aimed at preparing ECRs who are at an advanced stage in data collection and analysis of their Small Research Projects (SRP) to be able to link research to policy and practice at different levels from national, international, to global. Part of the virtual sessions were spent on development of content and designing policy briefs based on scientific evidence using simplified language. This culminated in a one day face to face interface on 3rd November 2020 with policy makers including those from National Planning Commission and Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy in Salima to share the preliminary findings from the SRPs and how they could inform policy. The Policy makers made their contributions to the presentations through thorough and open discussions that will help the ECRs finalise the policy briefs. Further networks were formed as the invited policymakers proved to be well versed with the BRECcIA work being undertaken in Malawi, including work in the Lake Chilwa basin and the national seed sector policy framework. Other than Malawi, Kenya and Ghana have also recently had their face to face interfaces with their respective policy makers. |
| URL | http://www.gcrf-breccia.com/2020/12/03/policy-summer-school-malawi-2020/ |
| Description | Recommendations for 1) building socio-ecological resilience to food and water security in Turkana County, Kenya, 2) scalable management options for invasive species Prosopis Juliflora(Mwendwa, 2022) |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | MMUST will be included in the Turkana County Climate Change Action Planning and Research components and supported with a budget. This will specifically be aimed at developing a Turkana County Climate Change Resilience Framework. In the near future MMUST will sign an MoU with the Turkana County Government to take advantage of the Turkana County Government Climate Change Act, 2021 that came into operation in November 2021. There are several components of research and capacity building to both communities and policy makers on several matters of climate change. |
| Description | SARIMA Research Management training for BRECcIA partner institutes in Ghana (4-8 November 2019) |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | SARIMA's role was to arrange onsite training in collaboration with BRECcIA partner institutions based on a needs assessment. The training workshops' content was based primarily on grants management, financial management, contract management, costing of research projects, partnerships and knowledge exchanges. GHANA Date: 4 - 8 November 2019 Venue: University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana A total of 35 participants attended from University of Ghana, including the facilitator and SARIMA project manager. Summary: The participants hoped to gain an overall insight into the research management process and the best practices in the area, especially writing grant proposals. They wanted to enhance their understanding of the Principles and Guidelines of Research Management and gain an understanding of the strategies that can be put in place to enhance the support they give to academics particularly at the pre-award stage and gain more knowledge in the over-all grants management processes especially Research fundraising, the administration of grants Management and its processes. All expected the workshop to help them improve in all aspects of their work; particularly, research fund raising, finance management, finance control, audits, research performance and managing research for impact, build their capacity for grants and contracts management within teams (Pre-and Post-Award Service teams). Outcomes: The participants learnt from a practical viewpoint the principles of grants management, financial management, costing of research grants, and the management of partnerships. They were able to compile a framework for their university during the principles of grants management session around the major areas described above. This provided them with a compass on how best to proceed with putting in place the necessary policy and procedures at their university. |
| Description | SARIMA Research Management training for BRECcIA partner institutes in Kenya (1-5 March 2019) |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | SARIMA's role was to arrange onsite training in collaboration with BRECcIA partner institutions based on a needs assessment. The training workshops' content was based primarily on grants management, financial management, contract management, costing of research projects, partnerships and knowledge exchanges. KENYA Date: 1 - 5 March 2019 Venue: Nairobi Safari Club Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya A total of 25 participants attended from Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST), Kenyatta University, The Technical University of Kenya (TUK), the University of Nairobi, and Machakos University including the facilitator. It is important to note that although Machakos University is not part of the BRECcIA project, they requested participation in the training. Summary: These institutions wanted to learn how to prepare financial reports and assist researchers on budgeting and accounting. In general, they wanted basic management of Research in all aspects (financial management and grantsmanship) and to apply day-to-day management in their research office. Another key requirement was that they wanted to improve grants management by learning how to attract more funding thereby, increasing research output and a more enabling research environment. Impact: In line with the Universities' mission of promoting scholarship and innovation for sustainable development, the training was thought to be essential in nurturing skills for early career scientists and researchers to entrench a research culture at these universities on general management of research aspects (financial management and grantsmanship). The training will be likely to improve the number of grants successfully submitted through online submission platforms/portals, management of grants and proposals, grants fundraising strategies and impactful management of research. The training also provided an opportunity for networking amongst the Universities. They were able agree on common areas of training needs and shared their experiences thereby learning from each other. |
| Description | SARIMA Research Management training for BRECcIA partner institutes in Malawi (19-23 August 2019) |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | SARIMA's role was to arrange onsite training in collaboration with BRECcIA partner institutions based on a needs assessment. The training workshops' content was based primarily on grants management, financial management, contract management, costing of research projects, partnerships and knowledge exchanges. MALAWI Date: 19 - 23 August 2019 Venue: Mpale Cultural Village, Mangochi, Malawi A total of 26 participants attended from the University of Malawi Chancellor College, and the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources College (LUANAR). It is important to note that although LUANAR is not part of the BRECcIA project, they requested participation in the training at their own cost. Summary: The participants in Malawi had positive outcomes to enhance organisational reputation. They hoped the training will contribute to their knowledge base and widen their scope for efficient research management service to other researchers and external partners. Their expectation of this training was to help increase their success rate in grant submissions, contribute to expanding the research networks of the University and enhance their skills and knowledge of research support staff in grant submissions and administration. They hoped their organisation would benefit through the enhancement of the auditing process for sponsored research, win more grants, manage grants well to mitigate against risk so that funders and collaborators will be comfortable to partner with their institution. Impact: SARIMA has achieved its aim for this onsite training in Malawi as participants have confirmed that the training has ensured that the University of Malawi employ more staff with capacity to manage research and therefore attract more research funding than was the case before. It would also develop and entrench a culture of research for growth to build capacity, particularly for emerging researchers and facilitate the development of a vibrant research system. The impact of this training to the participants from LUANAR would help the institution in managing finances within the projects and the finance offices. Learning about proposal writing would help their institution to gain more projects which would in turn generate more income for other capacity building activities in research management at LUANAR. |
| Description | Seed Policy/Climate Information Service SRPs influencing policy (HH) |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or Improved professional practice |
| Description | Training Workshop: BRECcIA ECRs, 4-15 March 2019 |
| Geographic Reach | Africa |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Valuing Variability Short course pilot training |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Impact through the formation of a VV working group with government officials to continue discussions on how they can intergrate principles of VV in their work within government |
| Description | Valuing Variability course enhancement at Kenyatta University |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Wajir Water Department (JO/MK) |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | Webinar: Policy Analysis, June 2019 |
| Geographic Reach | Africa |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Webinar: Theory of Change, May 2019 |
| Geographic Reach | Africa |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Webinar: Use of Nvivo Software. Jan 2020 |
| Geographic Reach | Africa |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Webinar: Use of Open Data Kit, Dec 2019 |
| Geographic Reach | Africa |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | The webinar delivered training on the use of Open Data Kit as a tool for data collection in the field. This is a new tool for many African university partners, and they have been applying it to their fieldwork data collection in Malawi, Ghana and Kenya. The benefits include more thorough data collection, improved data quality and security, more efficient data management and analysis. |
| Description | Webinar: Use of SLACK as a project management tool, Nov 2019 |
| Geographic Reach | Africa |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Wetland Policy Development, Malawi (LEAD) - March 2022 |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | Government Minister of Agriculture made a commitment at the BRECcIA Dissemination Conference in Lilongwe, Malawi in March 2022 to facilitate the development of a wetland management policy which does not currently exist. |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/471829839504907/posts/5076642532356925/ |
| Description | ACEWATER III: Water security project (Cosmo Ngongondo and Maurice Monjerezi, co-PIs) |
| Amount | £0 (MWK) |
| Organisation | European Union |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | European Union (EU) |
| Start | |
| Description | BASIN - Behavioural Approaches for Water Security IN Africa - Cosmo Ngongondo and Maurice Monjerezi (co-PIs): |
| Amount | £0 (MWK) |
| Organisation | International Development Research Centre |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Canada |
| Start | |
| Description | Bridging national strategy on sustainable development of water-energy-food systems to local scale needs in Malawi |
| Amount | £130,168 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/T024887/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2020 |
| End | 05/2021 |
| Description | Centre for Resilient Agri-Food Systems (CRAFS) - Cosmo Ngongondo and Maurice Monjerezi (co-PIs) |
| Amount | £0 (MWK) |
| Organisation | World Bank Group |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United States |
| Start | |
| Description | EO-Africa multi-scale smart agricultural water management - AFRI-SMART |
| Amount | € 447,262 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 4000139550/22/I-DT |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | France |
| Start | 11/2022 |
| End | 11/2024 |
| Description | ETH4D PhD Mentorship programme - Kaleb Mwendwa |
| Amount | SFr. 0 (CHF) |
| Organisation | ETH Zurich |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Start | 03/2023 |
| End | 07/2023 |
| Description | GCRF Strategic Development Fund | UoS and Technical University of Kenya (Roe, Hurley, Olang). To explore how concepts of 'becoming an ecological citizen' and 'non-elite environmentalism' can be adapted as lenses through which agro-food practices respond |
| Amount | £33,466 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Southampton |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2019 |
| End | 12/2019 |
| Description | Henry Hunga (University of Malawi); University of Sheffield STFC Food Network+ Grant; A feasibility study of using DNA sequencing and Blockchain technology to detect and track counterfeit seeds in Malawi |
| Amount | £10,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Sheffield |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2020 |
| End | 10/2021 |
| Description | J Lawn; International Research Management and Staff Exchange Programme; AAS/ARMA |
| Amount | £5,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ReMPro/UK/20/005 |
| Organisation | African Academy of Sciences |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | Kenya |
| Start | 09/2020 |
| End | 04/2021 |
| Description | PhD Leveraged - South Coast DTP. Ms Ailish Craig. Title: Improving water and food security for smallholder farmer communities in sub-Saharan Africa through inter-disciplinary research |
| Amount | £44,331 (GBP) |
| Organisation | South Coast DTP |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Start | 06/2018 |
| End | 07/2021 |
| Description | University of Southampton appointed in DFID PO 8373: International Multi-Disciplinary Programme Framework Agreement (IMDP) - Preferred Supplier LOT 10 - Low Value Research |
| Amount | £0 (GBP) |
| Organisation | UK Department for International Development |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2019 |
| Description | Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Services for Agriculture in Malawi - Capacity Building and Financial Support. (LEAD, Malawi) |
| Amount | € 10,670 (EUR) |
| Organisation | Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Start | 02/2018 |
| End | 02/2019 |
| Description | Yaw Atilgo (University of Ghana): Meerwissen grant (2022-23) |
| Amount | € 75,000 (EUR) |
| Organisation | German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation (GIZ) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Germany |
| Start | 05/2022 |
| End | 04/2023 |
| Title | Mobile-based data collection tool: Factors and coping strategies for addressing food insecurity in Marsabit county Kenya (Francis Oloo, TuK) |
| Description | • The tool uses Open Data Kits specifications to deploy research survey forms in mobile-based platforms. • In this specific case survey questions were designed to capture the factors contribute to food insecurity in the dryland areas of Kenya. In addition, to tool also included questions to capture the coping strategies that are commonly employed by the communities to address short and long terms impacts of food insecurity in Marsabit county of Kenya. • The tool was designed to capture both quantitative and qualitative data including locations of the households where the interviews were carried out and photos of the landscape. • The tool was deployed and executed on phones and tablets using the ODK Collect App • KoboTool box server was used for the cloud based aggregation, visualization and retrieval of the data. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | • Reduced the time for data collection. • Ensures clean data due to the various controls that can be implemented in the survey forms • Allows interactive visualization of data in the form of maps, charts and tables. |
| URL | https://ee.kobotoolbox.org/x/#yoTOyPHf |
| Title | Participatory GIS exercise for natural resource use - Matt Kandel |
| Description | This tool was designed for use during the third phase of community-based data collection in Ghana. This tool was used as part of our investigation to answer the research question, 'How does the availability of resources within the surrounding landscape influence on-farm decision making with respect to the selective management and regeneration of trees?' This tool involved the printing of A1 size, laminated, standardized maps (created in QGIS) of our community study sites (scale was set at 1:18,000). As a participatory tool, participants used markers to identify areas on the maps in response to our questions. Our main focus was to 1) Spatially locate sources of ecosystem services for livelihoods and relevant flows for local use and trade/market, and 2) Understand resource access and control issues that might emerge from resource harvesting activities. We used this tool in focus groups which were disaggregated by gender (male-only and female-only) and generation (youth-only [<35 years of age]). Each focus groups was limited to five participants. In each community therefore we conducted three focus groups using this tool. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Yhis tool will be discussed in the method section of a planned paper which will be analysing our results and findings based on the research question mentioned in section three. This paper will be comparative as we will be using this tool at our study sites in Kenya as well (though we will adapt it). Therefore at this time we cannot identify any notable impact(s) resulting from the development of this research tool. |
| Title | Scoring exercise for benefits, costs and risks (with beans-proportional piling) - Matt Kandel |
| Description | 3) This tool was designed for use during the third phase of community-based data collection in Ghana for a study that principally was investigating, 'How do people experience and/or anticipate the benefits, costs, and risks of 'farmer-managed natural regeneration' (FMNR) interventions (a landscape restoration approach) and does this vary by social group (and if so, why and how?)'. This tool was designed as a follow-up to our second phase data collection during which a semi-structured interview protocol was used. During the second phase for this tool we purposefully narrowed down the research participant sample based on three criteria. This tool required participants to assign relative importance to 11 benefits and 6 costs/risks of FMNR (captured in laminated, A4 index cards with images and translations into two local languages) by using beans. These benefits and costs/risks were identified from the previous round of interviews-a free listing technique was used here-and represented those most frequently mentioned (at aggregate) in the previous interviews. The facilitator then led discussion around their reasons for scoring these benefits and cost/risks. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | 5) This tool will be discussed in the method section of a planned paper. Along with several other methods, which were also sequentially implemented as part of the multi-phased field data collection (i.e. part of an iterative qualitative/participatory research design), the advantages and disadvantages of this tool will be analysed in the paper. Therefore at this time we cannot identify any notable impact(s) resulting from the development of this research tool. |
| Title | Tree survey instrument ('Farm survey'-Talensi district, Ghana, 2020) |
| Description | 3) This survey was designed for use during our third phase of community-based data collection in Ghana with four objectives: 1) Identify all tree species and classes of trees (classed as either seedling, sapling, or tree) on the participant's compound or bush farm 2) Understand tree and land tenure dynamics 3) Understand where participants harvest natural resources (a proportional piling exercise was done for this), and 4) Collect basic livelihood and sociodemographic data. Participants in this survey had already completed two previous rounds of interviews with us (one involved a semi-structured topic guide and the other used a proportional piling exercise-a participatory rural appraisal tool-that involved them assigning relative importance to the benefits and costs/risks of practicing 'farmer-managed natural regeneration' [FMNR, a landscape restoration approach] on their farm[s] or at community regeneration sites). This tool was used to provide data for two research questions: 1) How does the availability of resources within the surrounding landscape influence on-farm decision making with respect to the selective management and regeneration of trees? 2) How does land and tree (or other natural resource) tenure influence whether people practice FMNR, and does the assisted natural regeneration of indigenous tree species create different tenure demands/requirements then the planting of trees? A botanist was contracted to fulfil tasks for Objective 1 while the research team facilitator and interpreter completed tasks to fulfil Objectives 2-4. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This will be discussed in the methods sections of planned papers (one of which will be comparative with our study in Kenya) which will be analysing our results and findings for the two research questions mentioned in section 3. Therefore at this time we cannot identify any notable impact(s) resulting from the development of this research tool. |
| Title | Valuing Variability Drylands Perceptions Survey tool |
| Description | An online survey tool to capture the perceptions of participants on the drylands. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Manuscript analysing responses from this tool from BRECcIA's extended drylands network (aim to publish Feb 2023) Tool being integrated into the VV LRP short course and potentially Kenyatta University academic courses as a way for the course trainers to understand the perceptions of course participants before they start the course. Tool has already been adapted for use in other projects by BRECcIA researchers, e.g. Feed the Future Pastoralism in Africa under the USAID Bureau for Resilience and Food Security Centre for Resilience - implemented by Tufts University and IIED - to inform subsequent activities. |
| URL | https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/ZJGRRQ5 |
| Title | AGT - Sirba Basin yield simulations |
| Description | Data of potential yield simulations for the Sirba RIver Basin (Burkina Faso/Niger) as part of the Large Research Project "Maize yield gaps in smallholder farming systems of sub-Saharan Africa" |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers in the future. |
| Title | BM - VIC hydrological simulations (Sirba Basin) |
| Description | Data from VIC hydrological simulation outputs for SIrba River Basin (Burkina Faso/Niger) and West Africa as part of the Small Research Project "Hyper-resolution land surface modeling for food security and hydrological forecasting: Case of Sirba transboundary basin" |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers in the future. |
| Title | CK - Water Quality datasets for Lake Chilwa Catchment (Malawi) |
| Description | Geospatial survey and lab analysis data regarding water quality from the Lake Chilwa catchment in Malawi from 2019 |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers in the future. |
| Title | CL - Dynamics of cropland extension from 2010-2019 |
| Description | Data showing geospatial changes in cropland area from 2010-2019. This dataset is combined with existing forest loss dataset and land cover classification generated from the Small Research Project "Monitoring Agriculture intensification and expansion for measuring food security in Sub-Saharan Africa" in 2018. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers in the future. |
| Title | CL - Ghana flood satellite mapping |
| Description | Satellite mapping data of floods in Ghana as part of the Large Research Projects "Hydrological Modelling and Forecasting for Water and Food Security: Upscaling data and methods for national to regional risk mapping and early warning" and "Agricultural land use conversion, dam-related flooding, and their landscape impacts on domestic water points: a water-energy-food nexus management challenge in Malawi and Ghana" |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers in the future. |
| Title | CL - Yield estimates from satellite data |
| Description | Data of actual crop yield estimates from satellite data as part of the Large Research Project "Maize yield gaps in smallholder farming systems of sub-Saharan Africa" |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers in the future. |
| Title | DA - Malawi Hydroblocks simulation |
| Description | Data relating to simulation outputs for Malawi across 30m over 30 years using Hydroblocks as part of the Large Research Project "Hydrological Modelling and Forecasting for Water and Food Security: Upscaling data and methods for national to regional risk mapping and early warning" |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers in the future. |
| Title | DA/TC - Malawi potential yield simulations |
| Description | Data on potential crop yield simulations for Malawi as part of the Large Research Project "Maize yield gaps in smallholder farming systems of sub-Saharan Africa" |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers in the future. |
| Title | EC - Malawi soil type data |
| Description | Data from soil samples showing soil type and soil properties, sampled from the Phalombe District area of Malawi as part of the Small Research Project "Dry spells vulnerability mapping for Malawi in relation to soil properties and linking to food security" |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers in the future. |
| Title | ES & SC - Malawi Nexus focus group discussions |
| Description | Questionnaire results from water and food security focus group discussions relating to the SRP "The nexus between polivies, food and water security in drylands in Malawi", captured 2020-2022. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Will go on to produce project outputs. |
| Title | EW - Project evaluation surveys |
| Description | Qualitative data resulting from surveys from BRECcIA project ECRs, Co-Is and staff at the end of the project in 2022. This is internal project data that will not be shared apart from within a report. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce a report which may impact future projects and their development and management |
| Title | FN - Kenya policy interviews (Policy SRP) |
| Description | QUalitative transcripts from policy interviews covering Nairobi, Kitui and Wajir counties in Kenya from 2020 relating to the SRP "Building capacity for policy uptake in Kitui and Wajir counties of Kenya". Potentially sensitive data - potential ethical issues with sharing. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Will be used to produce project outputs and thus realise project impact in the future. |
| Title | FO - Qualitative data from Kenya focus group discussions |
| Description | Notes, photos and tables from focus group discussions, focussing on perception on land degradation, drivers of soil erosion and the potential link between soil erosion and food security. The data was collated for the Small Research Project "Predicting water and food insecurity from rainfall induced land processes in Kajiado County of Kenya" |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers in the future. |
| Title | GO - Shea Processing FGDs |
| Description | Surveys and transcripts from focus group discussions 2020-2022 relating to the SRP researching women and Shea processing in Talensi district, Ghana. Qualitative data. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Will go to produce project outputs, thus involved in overall project impact. |
| Title | Ghana Food Beliefs dataset |
| Description | Qualitative data relating to interviews conducted in Ghana as part of the Large Research Project "Climate Change, Beliefs and Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Food Security in Drylands of Sub-Saharan Africa" and it's associated Small Research Project. Potential ethical issues relating to sharing this data. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers in the future. |
| Title | HH - Malawi qualitative data on policy chronology |
| Description | Transcripts for key informant interviews conducted in 2020 for 7 institutions looking at the events that led to policy change in Malawi. Research conducted as part of the Small Research Project "Analysis of National Seed Policies of Malawi and Kenya: implications for water and food security resilience building in drylands" |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers in the future. |
| Title | JW - Participatory flood extent in northern Ghana |
| Description | doi:10.5258/SOTON/D1956 Flood extent layers from participatory mapping in northern Ghana. This dataset includes flood geographical extent and water points draw by local informants in northern Ghana. It is associated with the publication " Growing spatial overlap between dam-related flooding, cropland and domestic water points: a water-energy-food nexus management challenge in Malawi and Ghana " doi: 10.3389/frwa.2021.730370 |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | None |
| URL | http://dx.doi.org/10.5258/SOTON/D1956 |
| Title | KM - W Kenya soil samples |
| Description | Data from soil sampling in western Kenya in collaboration with ICRAF as part of the Large Research Project "Maize yield gaps in smallholder farming systems of sub-Saharan Africa" |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers in the future. |
| Title | Kenya Food Beliefs data |
| Description | Qualitative data relating to interviews conducted in Kenya as part of the Large Research Project "Climate Change, Beliefs and Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Food Security in Drylands of Sub-Saharan Africa". Potential ethical issues relating to sharing this data. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers in the future. |
| Title | Kenya drought monitoring system |
| Description | Operational drought monitoring system for Kenya based on near real-time precipitation and other satellite datasets. Development led by Technical University Kenya as part of the Large Research Project "Hydrological Modelling and Forecasting for Water and Food Security: Upscaling data and methods for national to regional risk mapping and early warning" |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers and industry/communities in the future. |
| Title | MA - Ghana Harvest facility managers survey |
| Description | Data from survey conducted with managers of harvested facilities in Ghana as part of the Small Research Project "Water harvesting technologies as resilience strategy for sustainable water and food security in dry land areas of Ghana." |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers in the future. |
| Title | MA - Ghana farmer survey |
| Description | Data from survey with farmers (users and non-users) in Ghana as part of the Small Research Project "Water harvesting technologies as resilience strategy for sustainable water and food security in dry land areas of Ghana." |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers in the future. |
| Title | MA - Ghana flooding assessment transcripts |
| Description | Transcripts from focus group discussions and key informant interviews as part of the Small Research Project "An assessment of flooding from dam releases and its impacts on diarrhoea disease and microbiological contamination of water sources in selected dryland areas in Northern Ghana." |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers in the future. |
| Title | MA - Talensi Dams and Dugout Inventory (Ghana) |
| Description | Quantitative survey data focussing on the inventory of dams and dugouts in the Talensi district, Ghana (2017) as part of the Small Research Project "Water harvesting technologies as resilience strategy for sustainable water and food security in dry land areas of Ghana." |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers in the future. |
| Title | MA - Water harvesting Household (Domestic) survey (Ghana) |
| Description | Household survey on rainwater harvesting technology conducted in Ghana as part of the Small Research Project "Water harvesting technologies as resilience strategy for sustainable water and food security in dry land areas of Ghana." |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers in the future. |
| Title | MD - Ghana community participatory mapping images |
| Description | Images relation to Community Participatory Mapping of water source and flood-affected areas in Ghana as part of the Small Research Project "An assessment of flooding from dam releases and its impacts on diarrhoea disease and microbiological contamination of water sources in selected dryland areas in Northern Ghana." |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers in the future. |
| Title | MD - Ghana water samples |
| Description | Quantitative water samples from flood-affected communities in the Savelugu and Talensi districts of Ghana as part of the Small Research Project "An assessment of flooding from dam releases and its impacts on diarrhoea disease and microbiological contamination of water sources in selected dryland areas in Northern Ghana." Possible ethical issues with sharing data. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers in the future. |
| Title | MK - Semi-structured interviews in three communities in Talensi distrct, Upper East Region, Ghana |
| Description | Notes from semi-structured interviews during second phase of data collection for the Small Research Project "Capacity building and variability in the drylands of Ghana and Kenya" in three communities. Research participants were sampled based on whether they were active members in a NGO-established restoration group. Non-group members also purposefully sampled. Potential ethical issues in storing or sharing of dataset |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers in the future. |
| Title | Maize yield data from Malawi, Zimbabwe and Kenya |
| Description | The data consists of observed maize yield data from approx 80 fields during the growing seasons of 2019/20 and 2020/21 in Malawi, 2019/20 in Zimbabwe and 2021/22 in Kenya as part of the Large Research Project "Maize yield gaps in smallholder farming systems of sub-Saharan Africa" |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers in the future. |
| Title | OK - Lake Chilwa Basin (Malawi) SWAT simulations |
| Description | SWAT hydrological model simulation outputs for the Lake Chilwa Basin, Malawi, as part of the Small Research Project "Evaluating Drivers of Aridity in the Lake Chilwa Basin" |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers in the future. |
| Title | SR - Networks SRP Mapper Tool dataset |
| Description | Questionnaire data relating to changing internal and external professional relationships and collaborations of BRECcIA project team members based on the BRECciA-developed Mapper Tool from 2021 and 2022. Ethical issues in sharing data |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Social Network Analysis will be carried out to produce project outputs, thus serving as an example of how the Mapper Tool could be used by future projects to discover how relationships develop throughout the lifespan of a project and to uncover positive patterns, or help diagnose project problems owing to communication issues and biases. |
| URL | https://mapper.gcrf-breccia.com |
| Title | SW |
| Description | Data from interviews conducted in Marsabit County, Kenya, as part of the Small Research Project "Analysis of food insecurity contributing factors and coping strategies amongst rural communities in the Arid Regions of Marsabit in Kenya". Potential ethical issues relating to sharing this data. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers in the future. |
| Title | SW - River data for Oleriai Basin, Kenya |
| Description | Ephemeral river data collection in Oleriai basin, Kenya as part of the Large Research Project "Hydrological Modelling and Forecasting for Water and Food Security: Upscaling data and methods for national to regional risk mapping and early warning" |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers in the future. |
| Title | Sirba Basin hydrological monitoring system (BM) |
| Description | Operational hydrological monitoring system for the Sirba Basin (Burkina-Faso/Niger) based on near real-time precipitation and other satellite datasets and a hydrological model. Developed by AGRHYMET as part of the Large Research Project "Hydrological Modelling and Forecasting for Water and Food Security: Upscaling data and methods for national to regional risk mapping and early warning" |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers and industry/communities in the future. |
| Title | TA - Kenyan drought indices |
| Description | Drought indices for Kenya as part of the Large Research Project "Hydrological Modelling and Forecasting for Water and Food Security: Upscaling data and methods for national to regional risk mapping and early warning" |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This project output will be used to produce other project outputs and could potentially be used by other researchers in the future. |
| Description | A feasibility study of using DNA sequencing and Blockchain technology to detect and track counterfeit seeds in Malawi |
| Organisation | Brunel University London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | With colleagues from University of Central Lancashire, University of Plymouth, Brunel University, STFC, and CABI we developed the proposal to prove a concept where Raman Spectroscopy (RS) would be used to detect counterfeit seeds on the market. If funded the proposal aims at mapping the seed value chain in Malawi and identifying spots for counterfeiting and estimate the value and loss on the farmers side. It will also engage the key stakeholders including the policymakers to have a buying on the proposed use of the RS in seed value chain. Thereafter we shall apply for further funding to develop the RS tool and build capacity of stakeholders in using the RS in reducing or managing counterfeiting of seeds. |
| Collaborator Contribution | With colleagues from University of Central Lancashire, University of Plymouth, Brunel University, STFC, and CABI we developed the proposal to prove a concept where Raman Spectroscopy (RS) would be used to detect counterfeit seeds on the market. If funded the proposal aims at mapping the seed value chain in Malawi and identifying spots for counterfeiting and estimate the value and loss on the farmers side. It will also engage the key stakeholders including the policymakers to have a buying on the proposed use of the RS in seed value chain. Thereafter we shall apply for further funding to develop the RS tool and build capacity of stakeholders in using the RS in reducing or managing counterfeiting of seeds. |
| Impact | none yet |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | A feasibility study of using DNA sequencing and Blockchain technology to detect and track counterfeit seeds in Malawi |
| Organisation | Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | With colleagues from University of Central Lancashire, University of Plymouth, Brunel University, STFC, and CABI we developed the proposal to prove a concept where Raman Spectroscopy (RS) would be used to detect counterfeit seeds on the market. If funded the proposal aims at mapping the seed value chain in Malawi and identifying spots for counterfeiting and estimate the value and loss on the farmers side. It will also engage the key stakeholders including the policymakers to have a buying on the proposed use of the RS in seed value chain. Thereafter we shall apply for further funding to develop the RS tool and build capacity of stakeholders in using the RS in reducing or managing counterfeiting of seeds. |
| Collaborator Contribution | With colleagues from University of Central Lancashire, University of Plymouth, Brunel University, STFC, and CABI we developed the proposal to prove a concept where Raman Spectroscopy (RS) would be used to detect counterfeit seeds on the market. If funded the proposal aims at mapping the seed value chain in Malawi and identifying spots for counterfeiting and estimate the value and loss on the farmers side. It will also engage the key stakeholders including the policymakers to have a buying on the proposed use of the RS in seed value chain. Thereafter we shall apply for further funding to develop the RS tool and build capacity of stakeholders in using the RS in reducing or managing counterfeiting of seeds. |
| Impact | none yet |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | A feasibility study of using DNA sequencing and Blockchain technology to detect and track counterfeit seeds in Malawi |
| Organisation | University of Central Lancashire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | With colleagues from University of Central Lancashire, University of Plymouth, Brunel University, STFC, and CABI we developed the proposal to prove a concept where Raman Spectroscopy (RS) would be used to detect counterfeit seeds on the market. If funded the proposal aims at mapping the seed value chain in Malawi and identifying spots for counterfeiting and estimate the value and loss on the farmers side. It will also engage the key stakeholders including the policymakers to have a buying on the proposed use of the RS in seed value chain. Thereafter we shall apply for further funding to develop the RS tool and build capacity of stakeholders in using the RS in reducing or managing counterfeiting of seeds. |
| Collaborator Contribution | With colleagues from University of Central Lancashire, University of Plymouth, Brunel University, STFC, and CABI we developed the proposal to prove a concept where Raman Spectroscopy (RS) would be used to detect counterfeit seeds on the market. If funded the proposal aims at mapping the seed value chain in Malawi and identifying spots for counterfeiting and estimate the value and loss on the farmers side. It will also engage the key stakeholders including the policymakers to have a buying on the proposed use of the RS in seed value chain. Thereafter we shall apply for further funding to develop the RS tool and build capacity of stakeholders in using the RS in reducing or managing counterfeiting of seeds. |
| Impact | none yet |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | A feasibility study of using DNA sequencing and Blockchain technology to detect and track counterfeit seeds in Malawi |
| Organisation | University of Malawi |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | With colleagues from University of Central Lancashire, University of Plymouth, Brunel University, STFC, and CABI we developed the proposal to prove a concept where Raman Spectroscopy (RS) would be used to detect counterfeit seeds on the market. If funded the proposal aims at mapping the seed value chain in Malawi and identifying spots for counterfeiting and estimate the value and loss on the farmers side. It will also engage the key stakeholders including the policymakers to have a buying on the proposed use of the RS in seed value chain. Thereafter we shall apply for further funding to develop the RS tool and build capacity of stakeholders in using the RS in reducing or managing counterfeiting of seeds. |
| Collaborator Contribution | With colleagues from University of Central Lancashire, University of Plymouth, Brunel University, STFC, and CABI we developed the proposal to prove a concept where Raman Spectroscopy (RS) would be used to detect counterfeit seeds on the market. If funded the proposal aims at mapping the seed value chain in Malawi and identifying spots for counterfeiting and estimate the value and loss on the farmers side. It will also engage the key stakeholders including the policymakers to have a buying on the proposed use of the RS in seed value chain. Thereafter we shall apply for further funding to develop the RS tool and build capacity of stakeholders in using the RS in reducing or managing counterfeiting of seeds. |
| Impact | none yet |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | A feasibility study of using DNA sequencing and Blockchain technology to detect and track counterfeit seeds in Malawi |
| Organisation | University of Plymouth |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | With colleagues from University of Central Lancashire, University of Plymouth, Brunel University, STFC, and CABI we developed the proposal to prove a concept where Raman Spectroscopy (RS) would be used to detect counterfeit seeds on the market. If funded the proposal aims at mapping the seed value chain in Malawi and identifying spots for counterfeiting and estimate the value and loss on the farmers side. It will also engage the key stakeholders including the policymakers to have a buying on the proposed use of the RS in seed value chain. Thereafter we shall apply for further funding to develop the RS tool and build capacity of stakeholders in using the RS in reducing or managing counterfeiting of seeds. |
| Collaborator Contribution | With colleagues from University of Central Lancashire, University of Plymouth, Brunel University, STFC, and CABI we developed the proposal to prove a concept where Raman Spectroscopy (RS) would be used to detect counterfeit seeds on the market. If funded the proposal aims at mapping the seed value chain in Malawi and identifying spots for counterfeiting and estimate the value and loss on the farmers side. It will also engage the key stakeholders including the policymakers to have a buying on the proposed use of the RS in seed value chain. Thereafter we shall apply for further funding to develop the RS tool and build capacity of stakeholders in using the RS in reducing or managing counterfeiting of seeds. |
| Impact | none yet |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | A feasibility study of using DNA sequencing and Blockchain technology to detect and track counterfeit seeds in Malawi |
| Organisation | University of Sheffield |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | With colleagues from University of Central Lancashire, University of Plymouth, Brunel University, STFC, and CABI we developed the proposal to prove a concept where Raman Spectroscopy (RS) would be used to detect counterfeit seeds on the market. If funded the proposal aims at mapping the seed value chain in Malawi and identifying spots for counterfeiting and estimate the value and loss on the farmers side. It will also engage the key stakeholders including the policymakers to have a buying on the proposed use of the RS in seed value chain. Thereafter we shall apply for further funding to develop the RS tool and build capacity of stakeholders in using the RS in reducing or managing counterfeiting of seeds. |
| Collaborator Contribution | With colleagues from University of Central Lancashire, University of Plymouth, Brunel University, STFC, and CABI we developed the proposal to prove a concept where Raman Spectroscopy (RS) would be used to detect counterfeit seeds on the market. If funded the proposal aims at mapping the seed value chain in Malawi and identifying spots for counterfeiting and estimate the value and loss on the farmers side. It will also engage the key stakeholders including the policymakers to have a buying on the proposed use of the RS in seed value chain. Thereafter we shall apply for further funding to develop the RS tool and build capacity of stakeholders in using the RS in reducing or managing counterfeiting of seeds. |
| Impact | none yet |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | BRECcIA Research Collaboration Agreement |
| Organisation | AGRHYMET Regional Centre (ARC) |
| Country | Global |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | University of Southampton are the lead partner on the "GCRF - Building Research Capacity for sustainable water and food security In drylands of sub-Saharan Africa (BRECcIA) project and as such have developed the formal research collaboration agreement. |
| Collaborator Contribution | All partners have signed up the agreement which means that all the Parties will each use their reasonable endeavours to collaborate on the Project as described in tjhe proposal to GCRF. The Parties to the Collaboration Agreement shall be bound mutatis mutandis by the terms and conditions of the Contract from the Funding Body which forms part of this Collaboration Agreement. |
| Impact | None |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | BRECcIA Research Collaboration Agreement |
| Organisation | International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | University of Southampton are the lead partner on the "GCRF - Building Research Capacity for sustainable water and food security In drylands of sub-Saharan Africa (BRECcIA) project and as such have developed the formal research collaboration agreement. |
| Collaborator Contribution | All partners have signed up the agreement which means that all the Parties will each use their reasonable endeavours to collaborate on the Project as described in tjhe proposal to GCRF. The Parties to the Collaboration Agreement shall be bound mutatis mutandis by the terms and conditions of the Contract from the Funding Body which forms part of this Collaboration Agreement. |
| Impact | None |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | BRECcIA Research Collaboration Agreement |
| Organisation | Kenyatta University |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | University of Southampton are the lead partner on the "GCRF - Building Research Capacity for sustainable water and food security In drylands of sub-Saharan Africa (BRECcIA) project and as such have developed the formal research collaboration agreement. |
| Collaborator Contribution | All partners have signed up the agreement which means that all the Parties will each use their reasonable endeavours to collaborate on the Project as described in tjhe proposal to GCRF. The Parties to the Collaboration Agreement shall be bound mutatis mutandis by the terms and conditions of the Contract from the Funding Body which forms part of this Collaboration Agreement. |
| Impact | None |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | BRECcIA Research Collaboration Agreement |
| Organisation | King's College London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | University of Southampton are the lead partner on the "GCRF - Building Research Capacity for sustainable water and food security In drylands of sub-Saharan Africa (BRECcIA) project and as such have developed the formal research collaboration agreement. |
| Collaborator Contribution | All partners have signed up the agreement which means that all the Parties will each use their reasonable endeavours to collaborate on the Project as described in tjhe proposal to GCRF. The Parties to the Collaboration Agreement shall be bound mutatis mutandis by the terms and conditions of the Contract from the Funding Body which forms part of this Collaboration Agreement. |
| Impact | None |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | BRECcIA Research Collaboration Agreement |
| Organisation | Leadership for Environment and Development Southern and Eastern Africa |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | University of Southampton are the lead partner on the "GCRF - Building Research Capacity for sustainable water and food security In drylands of sub-Saharan Africa (BRECcIA) project and as such have developed the formal research collaboration agreement. |
| Collaborator Contribution | All partners have signed up the agreement which means that all the Parties will each use their reasonable endeavours to collaborate on the Project as described in tjhe proposal to GCRF. The Parties to the Collaboration Agreement shall be bound mutatis mutandis by the terms and conditions of the Contract from the Funding Body which forms part of this Collaboration Agreement. |
| Impact | None |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | BRECcIA Research Collaboration Agreement |
| Organisation | Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | University of Southampton are the lead partner on the "GCRF - Building Research Capacity for sustainable water and food security In drylands of sub-Saharan Africa (BRECcIA) project and as such have developed the formal research collaboration agreement. |
| Collaborator Contribution | All partners have signed up the agreement which means that all the Parties will each use their reasonable endeavours to collaborate on the Project as described in tjhe proposal to GCRF. The Parties to the Collaboration Agreement shall be bound mutatis mutandis by the terms and conditions of the Contract from the Funding Body which forms part of this Collaboration Agreement. |
| Impact | None |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | BRECcIA Research Collaboration Agreement |
| Organisation | Technical University of Kenya |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | University of Southampton are the lead partner on the "GCRF - Building Research Capacity for sustainable water and food security In drylands of sub-Saharan Africa (BRECcIA) project and as such have developed the formal research collaboration agreement. |
| Collaborator Contribution | All partners have signed up the agreement which means that all the Parties will each use their reasonable endeavours to collaborate on the Project as described in tjhe proposal to GCRF. The Parties to the Collaboration Agreement shall be bound mutatis mutandis by the terms and conditions of the Contract from the Funding Body which forms part of this Collaboration Agreement. |
| Impact | None |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | BRECcIA Research Collaboration Agreement |
| Organisation | The Waternet Trust |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | University of Southampton are the lead partner on the "GCRF - Building Research Capacity for sustainable water and food security In drylands of sub-Saharan Africa (BRECcIA) project and as such have developed the formal research collaboration agreement. |
| Collaborator Contribution | All partners have signed up the agreement which means that all the Parties will each use their reasonable endeavours to collaborate on the Project as described in tjhe proposal to GCRF. The Parties to the Collaboration Agreement shall be bound mutatis mutandis by the terms and conditions of the Contract from the Funding Body which forms part of this Collaboration Agreement. |
| Impact | None |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | BRECcIA Research Collaboration Agreement |
| Organisation | University of Ghana |
| Country | Ghana |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | University of Southampton are the lead partner on the "GCRF - Building Research Capacity for sustainable water and food security In drylands of sub-Saharan Africa (BRECcIA) project and as such have developed the formal research collaboration agreement. |
| Collaborator Contribution | All partners have signed up the agreement which means that all the Parties will each use their reasonable endeavours to collaborate on the Project as described in tjhe proposal to GCRF. The Parties to the Collaboration Agreement shall be bound mutatis mutandis by the terms and conditions of the Contract from the Funding Body which forms part of this Collaboration Agreement. |
| Impact | None |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | BRECcIA Research Collaboration Agreement |
| Organisation | University of Malawi |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | University of Southampton are the lead partner on the "GCRF - Building Research Capacity for sustainable water and food security In drylands of sub-Saharan Africa (BRECcIA) project and as such have developed the formal research collaboration agreement. |
| Collaborator Contribution | All partners have signed up the agreement which means that all the Parties will each use their reasonable endeavours to collaborate on the Project as described in tjhe proposal to GCRF. The Parties to the Collaboration Agreement shall be bound mutatis mutandis by the terms and conditions of the Contract from the Funding Body which forms part of this Collaboration Agreement. |
| Impact | None |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | BRECcIA Research Collaboration Agreement |
| Organisation | University of Nairobi |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | University of Southampton are the lead partner on the "GCRF - Building Research Capacity for sustainable water and food security In drylands of sub-Saharan Africa (BRECcIA) project and as such have developed the formal research collaboration agreement. |
| Collaborator Contribution | All partners have signed up the agreement which means that all the Parties will each use their reasonable endeavours to collaborate on the Project as described in tjhe proposal to GCRF. The Parties to the Collaboration Agreement shall be bound mutatis mutandis by the terms and conditions of the Contract from the Funding Body which forms part of this Collaboration Agreement. |
| Impact | None |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: An assessment of flooding from dam releases and its impacts on diarrhoea disease and microbiological contamination of water sources and vegetables in selected dryland areas in Northern Ghana. |
| Organisation | Kenyatta University |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This project addresses the challenge of flooding in northern Ghana, resulting from the scheduled release of water from the Bagre Dam, Burkina Faso (Ampomah, 2017). It addresses a problem raised by stakeholders at the Breccia Tamale workshop. Such water releases, typically occurring in August-October, have caused damage to crops, water sources, property and fatalities in Ghana, though the magnitude of damage is unclear. Since the scheduled water releases occur after heavy rainfall, they will be affected by a changing climate. Estimates of flood-related microbiological contamination of water and vegetables are relevant to pluvial or fluvial flood events elsewhere, which are a growing concern but much harder to study because of their unpredictability. |
| Collaborator Contribution | : This study aims to assess the impact of flooding from water release at the Bagre Dam on microbiological contamination of vegetables and water sources, adaptive behaviours, and diarrhoea disease in the Northern regions of Ghana [Bawku West, Kassena Nankana East and West, in the Upper East; Sissala East, Nandom and Wa West in the Upper West Region and Karaga, East Gonja, West Gonja, Savelugu Districts in the Northern Region]. Objectives are: • To identify the spatio-temporal distribution of flooding from Bagre dam releases and quantify affected areas of vegetable / crop production and water and sanitation facilities • To assess the impact on diarrhoea disease and microbiological contamination of vegetables and water sources • To assess adaptive behaviours to flooding in affected communities • To make recommendations on the safe harvesting of vegetables and use of inundated water sources and inform related policy |
| Impact | Anticipated outputs include map layers depicting a time series of flood inundation polygons relating to Bagre Dam releases, plus annual land use/cover map layers; reports from focus group discussions; microbiological and related field survey data . |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: An assessment of flooding from dam releases and its impacts on diarrhoea disease and microbiological contamination of water sources and vegetables in selected dryland areas in Northern Ghana. |
| Organisation | University of Ghana |
| Country | Ghana |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This project addresses the challenge of flooding in northern Ghana, resulting from the scheduled release of water from the Bagre Dam, Burkina Faso (Ampomah, 2017). It addresses a problem raised by stakeholders at the Breccia Tamale workshop. Such water releases, typically occurring in August-October, have caused damage to crops, water sources, property and fatalities in Ghana, though the magnitude of damage is unclear. Since the scheduled water releases occur after heavy rainfall, they will be affected by a changing climate. Estimates of flood-related microbiological contamination of water and vegetables are relevant to pluvial or fluvial flood events elsewhere, which are a growing concern but much harder to study because of their unpredictability. |
| Collaborator Contribution | : This study aims to assess the impact of flooding from water release at the Bagre Dam on microbiological contamination of vegetables and water sources, adaptive behaviours, and diarrhoea disease in the Northern regions of Ghana [Bawku West, Kassena Nankana East and West, in the Upper East; Sissala East, Nandom and Wa West in the Upper West Region and Karaga, East Gonja, West Gonja, Savelugu Districts in the Northern Region]. Objectives are: • To identify the spatio-temporal distribution of flooding from Bagre dam releases and quantify affected areas of vegetable / crop production and water and sanitation facilities • To assess the impact on diarrhoea disease and microbiological contamination of vegetables and water sources • To assess adaptive behaviours to flooding in affected communities • To make recommendations on the safe harvesting of vegetables and use of inundated water sources and inform related policy |
| Impact | Anticipated outputs include map layers depicting a time series of flood inundation polygons relating to Bagre Dam releases, plus annual land use/cover map layers; reports from focus group discussions; microbiological and related field survey data . |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: An assessment of flooding from dam releases and its impacts on diarrhoea disease and microbiological contamination of water sources and vegetables in selected dryland areas in Northern Ghana. |
| Organisation | University of Southampton |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This project addresses the challenge of flooding in northern Ghana, resulting from the scheduled release of water from the Bagre Dam, Burkina Faso (Ampomah, 2017). It addresses a problem raised by stakeholders at the Breccia Tamale workshop. Such water releases, typically occurring in August-October, have caused damage to crops, water sources, property and fatalities in Ghana, though the magnitude of damage is unclear. Since the scheduled water releases occur after heavy rainfall, they will be affected by a changing climate. Estimates of flood-related microbiological contamination of water and vegetables are relevant to pluvial or fluvial flood events elsewhere, which are a growing concern but much harder to study because of their unpredictability. |
| Collaborator Contribution | : This study aims to assess the impact of flooding from water release at the Bagre Dam on microbiological contamination of vegetables and water sources, adaptive behaviours, and diarrhoea disease in the Northern regions of Ghana [Bawku West, Kassena Nankana East and West, in the Upper East; Sissala East, Nandom and Wa West in the Upper West Region and Karaga, East Gonja, West Gonja, Savelugu Districts in the Northern Region]. Objectives are: • To identify the spatio-temporal distribution of flooding from Bagre dam releases and quantify affected areas of vegetable / crop production and water and sanitation facilities • To assess the impact on diarrhoea disease and microbiological contamination of vegetables and water sources • To assess adaptive behaviours to flooding in affected communities • To make recommendations on the safe harvesting of vegetables and use of inundated water sources and inform related policy |
| Impact | Anticipated outputs include map layers depicting a time series of flood inundation polygons relating to Bagre Dam releases, plus annual land use/cover map layers; reports from focus group discussions; microbiological and related field survey data . |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Analysis of National Seed Policies for Malawi and Kenya: implications for water and food security resilience building in drylands |
| Organisation | Government of Malawi |
| Department | Department of Agricultural Research Services |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | In agriculture, seed has the highest ability to limit productivity. This has been worsened by climate variability which is characterised by shifting seasons, dry spells, droughts, and floods [2]. National seed policies regulate the seed industry by ensuring good quality seed. Since 2010, there have been efforts by African countries under COMESA to harmonize seed policies for streamlined regulation and marketing. In Malawi and Kenya there exist two seed systems, formal and informal, responsible for seed production and supply with the former supplying only a third of the seed requirements. Surprisingly, the seed policies of the two countries have ignored the informal seed sector which would result in reduced affordability and availability of quality seed, crop and variety choice, and supply of reliable and adequate volumes. Inadequate consultations coupled with weak linkage between research, policy and practice may have led to these omissions, as experienced in the recent Kenya's Wajir County water bill was referred back for redesigning. Analysis of the policies through the five key stages of policy development will be critical in reviewing, revision or improvement of future policies. Understanding the policy networks, circle of influenced and operation, may offer an opportunity for future changes in policy development. The methodology used in the analysis and the results will be widely applicable for future policy analysis across sectors and countries. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The objective of the study is to assess the national seed policy change process and its impact on the seed system and resilience building of smallholder farms in Malawi and Kenya. The research questions to be addressed include: • Examine the policy chronology identifying the events that led to the current national seed policies (from agenda setting to implementation) • Assess the effectiveness of the policies in building resilience of smallholder farms • Assess the perception of farmers and stakeholders at National and district/county level on the impact of the policies on seed systems • Assess the seed policies implementation and impact • Assess the role of the seed policy networks in the policy change process and implementation |
| Impact | The research is social science fused with historical and political approaches, policy analysis, farming systems analysis, and social structure of the seed sector. Policy analysis will look at policy processes including agenda setting, design, adoption, and implementation. They will also assess the four policy determinants: goal, obligation, resources and opportunities which are critical for achieving policy impact. Farming systems will assess the effectiveness of the policy actions on building resilience. Social structure through SNA will reveal the political relationships among the different stakeholders within the seed policy which is important for implementation, resource flow, and opportunities for improvement and review. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Analysis of National Seed Policies for Malawi and Kenya: implications for water and food security resilience building in drylands |
| Organisation | Kenyatta University |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | In agriculture, seed has the highest ability to limit productivity. This has been worsened by climate variability which is characterised by shifting seasons, dry spells, droughts, and floods [2]. National seed policies regulate the seed industry by ensuring good quality seed. Since 2010, there have been efforts by African countries under COMESA to harmonize seed policies for streamlined regulation and marketing. In Malawi and Kenya there exist two seed systems, formal and informal, responsible for seed production and supply with the former supplying only a third of the seed requirements. Surprisingly, the seed policies of the two countries have ignored the informal seed sector which would result in reduced affordability and availability of quality seed, crop and variety choice, and supply of reliable and adequate volumes. Inadequate consultations coupled with weak linkage between research, policy and practice may have led to these omissions, as experienced in the recent Kenya's Wajir County water bill was referred back for redesigning. Analysis of the policies through the five key stages of policy development will be critical in reviewing, revision or improvement of future policies. Understanding the policy networks, circle of influenced and operation, may offer an opportunity for future changes in policy development. The methodology used in the analysis and the results will be widely applicable for future policy analysis across sectors and countries. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The objective of the study is to assess the national seed policy change process and its impact on the seed system and resilience building of smallholder farms in Malawi and Kenya. The research questions to be addressed include: • Examine the policy chronology identifying the events that led to the current national seed policies (from agenda setting to implementation) • Assess the effectiveness of the policies in building resilience of smallholder farms • Assess the perception of farmers and stakeholders at National and district/county level on the impact of the policies on seed systems • Assess the seed policies implementation and impact • Assess the role of the seed policy networks in the policy change process and implementation |
| Impact | The research is social science fused with historical and political approaches, policy analysis, farming systems analysis, and social structure of the seed sector. Policy analysis will look at policy processes including agenda setting, design, adoption, and implementation. They will also assess the four policy determinants: goal, obligation, resources and opportunities which are critical for achieving policy impact. Farming systems will assess the effectiveness of the policy actions on building resilience. Social structure through SNA will reveal the political relationships among the different stakeholders within the seed policy which is important for implementation, resource flow, and opportunities for improvement and review. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Analysis of National Seed Policies for Malawi and Kenya: implications for water and food security resilience building in drylands |
| Organisation | Southern African Development Community |
| Department | Waternet |
| Country | Zimbabwe |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | In agriculture, seed has the highest ability to limit productivity. This has been worsened by climate variability which is characterised by shifting seasons, dry spells, droughts, and floods [2]. National seed policies regulate the seed industry by ensuring good quality seed. Since 2010, there have been efforts by African countries under COMESA to harmonize seed policies for streamlined regulation and marketing. In Malawi and Kenya there exist two seed systems, formal and informal, responsible for seed production and supply with the former supplying only a third of the seed requirements. Surprisingly, the seed policies of the two countries have ignored the informal seed sector which would result in reduced affordability and availability of quality seed, crop and variety choice, and supply of reliable and adequate volumes. Inadequate consultations coupled with weak linkage between research, policy and practice may have led to these omissions, as experienced in the recent Kenya's Wajir County water bill was referred back for redesigning. Analysis of the policies through the five key stages of policy development will be critical in reviewing, revision or improvement of future policies. Understanding the policy networks, circle of influenced and operation, may offer an opportunity for future changes in policy development. The methodology used in the analysis and the results will be widely applicable for future policy analysis across sectors and countries. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The objective of the study is to assess the national seed policy change process and its impact on the seed system and resilience building of smallholder farms in Malawi and Kenya. The research questions to be addressed include: • Examine the policy chronology identifying the events that led to the current national seed policies (from agenda setting to implementation) • Assess the effectiveness of the policies in building resilience of smallholder farms • Assess the perception of farmers and stakeholders at National and district/county level on the impact of the policies on seed systems • Assess the seed policies implementation and impact • Assess the role of the seed policy networks in the policy change process and implementation |
| Impact | The research is social science fused with historical and political approaches, policy analysis, farming systems analysis, and social structure of the seed sector. Policy analysis will look at policy processes including agenda setting, design, adoption, and implementation. They will also assess the four policy determinants: goal, obligation, resources and opportunities which are critical for achieving policy impact. Farming systems will assess the effectiveness of the policy actions on building resilience. Social structure through SNA will reveal the political relationships among the different stakeholders within the seed policy which is important for implementation, resource flow, and opportunities for improvement and review. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Analysis of National Seed Policies for Malawi and Kenya: implications for water and food security resilience building in drylands |
| Organisation | University of Malawi |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | In agriculture, seed has the highest ability to limit productivity. This has been worsened by climate variability which is characterised by shifting seasons, dry spells, droughts, and floods [2]. National seed policies regulate the seed industry by ensuring good quality seed. Since 2010, there have been efforts by African countries under COMESA to harmonize seed policies for streamlined regulation and marketing. In Malawi and Kenya there exist two seed systems, formal and informal, responsible for seed production and supply with the former supplying only a third of the seed requirements. Surprisingly, the seed policies of the two countries have ignored the informal seed sector which would result in reduced affordability and availability of quality seed, crop and variety choice, and supply of reliable and adequate volumes. Inadequate consultations coupled with weak linkage between research, policy and practice may have led to these omissions, as experienced in the recent Kenya's Wajir County water bill was referred back for redesigning. Analysis of the policies through the five key stages of policy development will be critical in reviewing, revision or improvement of future policies. Understanding the policy networks, circle of influenced and operation, may offer an opportunity for future changes in policy development. The methodology used in the analysis and the results will be widely applicable for future policy analysis across sectors and countries. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The objective of the study is to assess the national seed policy change process and its impact on the seed system and resilience building of smallholder farms in Malawi and Kenya. The research questions to be addressed include: • Examine the policy chronology identifying the events that led to the current national seed policies (from agenda setting to implementation) • Assess the effectiveness of the policies in building resilience of smallholder farms • Assess the perception of farmers and stakeholders at National and district/county level on the impact of the policies on seed systems • Assess the seed policies implementation and impact • Assess the role of the seed policy networks in the policy change process and implementation |
| Impact | The research is social science fused with historical and political approaches, policy analysis, farming systems analysis, and social structure of the seed sector. Policy analysis will look at policy processes including agenda setting, design, adoption, and implementation. They will also assess the four policy determinants: goal, obligation, resources and opportunities which are critical for achieving policy impact. Farming systems will assess the effectiveness of the policy actions on building resilience. Social structure through SNA will reveal the political relationships among the different stakeholders within the seed policy which is important for implementation, resource flow, and opportunities for improvement and review. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Analysis of food insecurity contributing factors and coping strategies amongst rural communities in the Arid Regions of Marsabit in Kenya |
| Organisation | National Drought Management Authority |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | This research focuses on assessing the critical factors contributing to such food insecurity in an arid area of Kenya; with a purpose of linking the factors to feasible coping strategies. The analysis will provide the evidence necessary to effectively design, deliver, monitor and evaluate community resilience that often supports sectoral food security emergency response mechanisms. Novel scientific approaches will be tested to provide targeted evidence that can support policy (G. O. Ouma et al., 2018) within the vulnerable rural communities. Furthermore, the study will provide a basis for benchmarking scaling up the efforts across other arid regions facing similar challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa, thereby contributing in part to the BRECcIA Project continental capacity-building initiative. |
| Collaborator Contribution | We have proposed to work with local expertise from a variety of fields such as Hydrology and Water resources Management, Statistical Mathematics, Socio-economic and Remote Sensing and informatics. In-terms of institutions, the Technical University of Kenya proposes to work with the National Drought Management Authority of Kenya (NDMA) in this pilot study because of their good experience across Arid and Semi-Arid Lands in Kenya. |
| Impact | This SRP includes researchers from a variety of fields such as Hydrology and Water resources Management, Statistical Mathematics, Socio-economic and Remote Sensing and informatics. Outputs include: Data Collection - Available data on water and food (in)security - Available Socio - economic data - Data and information on relevant coping strategies & indices. This is a key output of these research. - Mapped activities and Livelihood Profiles - Empirical models of reality as per the objectives with stronger focus on the measurable indices of water and food security. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Analysis of food insecurity contributing factors and coping strategies amongst rural communities in the Arid Regions of Marsabit in Kenya |
| Organisation | Technical University of Kenya |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This research focuses on assessing the critical factors contributing to such food insecurity in an arid area of Kenya; with a purpose of linking the factors to feasible coping strategies. The analysis will provide the evidence necessary to effectively design, deliver, monitor and evaluate community resilience that often supports sectoral food security emergency response mechanisms. Novel scientific approaches will be tested to provide targeted evidence that can support policy (G. O. Ouma et al., 2018) within the vulnerable rural communities. Furthermore, the study will provide a basis for benchmarking scaling up the efforts across other arid regions facing similar challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa, thereby contributing in part to the BRECcIA Project continental capacity-building initiative. |
| Collaborator Contribution | We have proposed to work with local expertise from a variety of fields such as Hydrology and Water resources Management, Statistical Mathematics, Socio-economic and Remote Sensing and informatics. In-terms of institutions, the Technical University of Kenya proposes to work with the National Drought Management Authority of Kenya (NDMA) in this pilot study because of their good experience across Arid and Semi-Arid Lands in Kenya. |
| Impact | This SRP includes researchers from a variety of fields such as Hydrology and Water resources Management, Statistical Mathematics, Socio-economic and Remote Sensing and informatics. Outputs include: Data Collection - Available data on water and food (in)security - Available Socio - economic data - Data and information on relevant coping strategies & indices. This is a key output of these research. - Mapped activities and Livelihood Profiles - Empirical models of reality as per the objectives with stronger focus on the measurable indices of water and food security. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Analysis of gaps between policy-makers and community stakeholders in building climate change resilience in dry lands of Malawi: why do interventions fail? |
| Organisation | Technical University of Kenya |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This research project has been designed to understand why communities supported with food and water security interventions via NGOs and government are not developing resilience to food and water related shocks. We adopt applied community-based anthropological field methods, in order to understand the socio-economic, cultural and behavioural dynamics that affect the building of food and water resilience in dry land communities that are recipients of NGO and or government support. Findings from this research will contribute to knowledge by highlighting aspects of the cultural and sociological factors that affect resilience-building efforts in dry lands of Malawi |
| Collaborator Contribution | . This research intends to answer the question of why is it that despite various policy interventions to enable communities and households to build resilience in dry lands of Malawi, such as Phalombe and Balaka, annual vulnerability assessments show poor results as measured by the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC). Objectives and Sites Specific objectives of the research are: ? To identify local knowledge and approaches in managing food and water insecurity ? To establish existing gaps in resilience building interventions by government or non-governmental organisation. ? To determine cultural and behavioural practices that influence solutions to food and water shortages. ? To analyse livelihood vulnerability to the impacts of climate change ? To identify alternative livelihood options and determinants of choice for food and water insecurity solutions developed by government or NGOs ? To understand specific interventions relating to resilience in several local communities |
| Impact | This research has been designed to integrate resilience, policy and interventions. This project has identified four potential pathways to impact: 1) I am going to have long term conversations with policy makers and inform their practices by sharing the results of my fieldwork and perhaps by publishing with some of them. 2) I am going to provide a learning opportunity for the participating stakeholders in identifying more effective approaches to ensure that policy interventions are in tandem with local needs and aspirations. This will therefore enhance efficiency in resource allocation towards resilience building interventions. 3) Through stakeholder meetings (together with community members) and feedback sessions, findings from research will inform policymakers and implementers of the Climate Change Management Policy and Resilience Strategy on effective strategies of building in drylands of Malawi. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Analysis of gaps between policy-makers and community stakeholders in building climate change resilience in dry lands of Malawi: why do interventions fail? |
| Organisation | University of Malawi |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This research project has been designed to understand why communities supported with food and water security interventions via NGOs and government are not developing resilience to food and water related shocks. We adopt applied community-based anthropological field methods, in order to understand the socio-economic, cultural and behavioural dynamics that affect the building of food and water resilience in dry land communities that are recipients of NGO and or government support. Findings from this research will contribute to knowledge by highlighting aspects of the cultural and sociological factors that affect resilience-building efforts in dry lands of Malawi |
| Collaborator Contribution | . This research intends to answer the question of why is it that despite various policy interventions to enable communities and households to build resilience in dry lands of Malawi, such as Phalombe and Balaka, annual vulnerability assessments show poor results as measured by the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC). Objectives and Sites Specific objectives of the research are: ? To identify local knowledge and approaches in managing food and water insecurity ? To establish existing gaps in resilience building interventions by government or non-governmental organisation. ? To determine cultural and behavioural practices that influence solutions to food and water shortages. ? To analyse livelihood vulnerability to the impacts of climate change ? To identify alternative livelihood options and determinants of choice for food and water insecurity solutions developed by government or NGOs ? To understand specific interventions relating to resilience in several local communities |
| Impact | This research has been designed to integrate resilience, policy and interventions. This project has identified four potential pathways to impact: 1) I am going to have long term conversations with policy makers and inform their practices by sharing the results of my fieldwork and perhaps by publishing with some of them. 2) I am going to provide a learning opportunity for the participating stakeholders in identifying more effective approaches to ensure that policy interventions are in tandem with local needs and aspirations. This will therefore enhance efficiency in resource allocation towards resilience building interventions. 3) Through stakeholder meetings (together with community members) and feedback sessions, findings from research will inform policymakers and implementers of the Climate Change Management Policy and Resilience Strategy on effective strategies of building in drylands of Malawi. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Assessing the contribution of soil properties on dry spell vulnerability and food insecurity in Malawi |
| Organisation | University of Malawi |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The aim of the study is to identify areas vulnerable to dry spells in relation to soil properties in Malawi, thus contributing to preparedness of regional action plan for dry spell adaptation, consequently enhancing food security in Malawi. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Dry spell mapping will be completed for the whole of Malawi. For dry spell vulnerability, the soil properties analysis will focus in identified dry spell areas but will consider only the agricultural area. The study will link the results on Monitoring changes in agricultural area Small Research Project by Chengxiu Li (University of Southampton) to identify agricultural land. The overarching research questions are: i. What are the spatial and temporal characteristics of dry spells in Malawi? ii. What is the link between soil properties and dry spell vulnerability in Malawi? iii. What is the relationship between vulnerability to dry spells in Malawi and food security? The specific objectives are: i. To identify dry spell hot spot areas in Malawi ii. Map areas vulnerable to dry spells by linking with soil properties iii. Establish link between dry spell vulnerable areas and crop yield for hot spot areas iv. Ensure that farmers in vulnerable areas are aware on the area not favorable for maize crop production |
| Impact | The success of the project is based on coming up with a map of areas vulnerable to dry spells in relation to soil properties. The interdisciplinary nature is reflected in the use of soil properties and agriculture crops in mapping dry spells. Additionally the output, the vulnerability map will show dry spell distribution and can be used in deciding on suitable crop variety to be considered in a particular area. Thus might be useful to policy makers in prioritizing resources. It might also be an important tool for planning in agricultural sector |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Assessing wellbeing outcomes of women Shea processors in Northern Ghana |
| Organisation | Kulima Integrated Development Solutions |
| Country | South Africa |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Shea production helps reduce poverty through exports and increases food security among the population by providing income for subsistence. At the same time, although it is affected by climate variability and change, the Shea tree has characteristics that make it a resistant crop, while its genetic diversity gives it high spontaneous adaptive capacity and enables domestication. Shea is also beneficial to the overall resilience of the ecosystem, maintaining soil fertility and biodiversity of flora and fauna. The study will therefore attempt to understand the gendered division of labour within the Shea market value chain, focusing on how the specific roles of women from nut gathering, crushing, processing into oil and / butter for sale locally as well as only picking for large scale buyers, influences the wellbeing of the women who are the primary source of the raw material in Shea production (Shea nut) |
| Collaborator Contribution | Research question and Aim: The general research question is: What are the roles, responsibilities and power relations that exist in the Shea market value chain? The primary aim is to comprehensively assess the impact of Shea commercialization at the domestic and large scale levels on the wellbeing of women involved in Shea processing. Specific Objectives Specifically, the objectives of the study include to • Assess the tangible earnings and benefits of women in local/rural Shea production • Assess the roles, responsibilities and challenges of women in the market value chain of Shea products (nuts and butter) both in the local and international markets • Assess how the identified roles and responsibilities of women in the Shea market value chain impacts on their objective wellbeing in terms of material conditions (Income and wealth; jobs and earnings and housing) • Assess how the identified roles and responsibilities of women in the Shea market value chain impacts their subjective wellbeing in terms of quality of life (health status; work and life balance; education and skills; social connections; civic engagement and governance; environmental quality; personal security) • Suggest some policy recommendations towards addressing the challenges associated with women's roles and responsibilities in the Shea market value chain and how this can contribute to food security |
| Impact | The project is interdisciplinary in nature because it intends to cover disciplines of socio-economics / demographics, capacity building, gender and environmental adaptation. The study will attempt to incorporate in its analysis the locations of shea trees and how long women need to travel in order to pick up shea nuts. This will help understand and quantify women's time spent in gathering shea nuts and the relation to incomes. It will also involve various stakeholders in the field of water and food security. Notable among them will be local government authorities in the North Gonja district of the Northern region, women in Shea processing, youth and women development leaders, NGOs working in Shea processing, academia and some state agencies and policy makers. Its impact will have a wide geographical spectrum not only in North Gonja and other dryland areas in Ghana but also in Malawi and Kenya where Shea marketing is high, as well as in other countries with drylands in sub Saharan Africa. The project will ultimately support capacity building of identified women who may want to form a cooperative to enhance their selling power. The capacity building will seek to enhance their understanding of the Shea marketing value chain and empower them to participate more fully in it so they can demand favourable pricing for their products and ensure positive impacts on their livelihoods. It is expected that the capacities built will be extended to other women in the industry. This in the long term will contribute significantly to women's increased ability to influence the Shea marketing chain positively, thereby increasing their market returns on Shea products and thus contributing to improved livelihoods of households with women in Shea processing. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Assessing wellbeing outcomes of women Shea processors in Northern Ghana |
| Organisation | University for Development Studies |
| Country | Ghana |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Shea production helps reduce poverty through exports and increases food security among the population by providing income for subsistence. At the same time, although it is affected by climate variability and change, the Shea tree has characteristics that make it a resistant crop, while its genetic diversity gives it high spontaneous adaptive capacity and enables domestication. Shea is also beneficial to the overall resilience of the ecosystem, maintaining soil fertility and biodiversity of flora and fauna. The study will therefore attempt to understand the gendered division of labour within the Shea market value chain, focusing on how the specific roles of women from nut gathering, crushing, processing into oil and / butter for sale locally as well as only picking for large scale buyers, influences the wellbeing of the women who are the primary source of the raw material in Shea production (Shea nut) |
| Collaborator Contribution | Research question and Aim: The general research question is: What are the roles, responsibilities and power relations that exist in the Shea market value chain? The primary aim is to comprehensively assess the impact of Shea commercialization at the domestic and large scale levels on the wellbeing of women involved in Shea processing. Specific Objectives Specifically, the objectives of the study include to • Assess the tangible earnings and benefits of women in local/rural Shea production • Assess the roles, responsibilities and challenges of women in the market value chain of Shea products (nuts and butter) both in the local and international markets • Assess how the identified roles and responsibilities of women in the Shea market value chain impacts on their objective wellbeing in terms of material conditions (Income and wealth; jobs and earnings and housing) • Assess how the identified roles and responsibilities of women in the Shea market value chain impacts their subjective wellbeing in terms of quality of life (health status; work and life balance; education and skills; social connections; civic engagement and governance; environmental quality; personal security) • Suggest some policy recommendations towards addressing the challenges associated with women's roles and responsibilities in the Shea market value chain and how this can contribute to food security |
| Impact | The project is interdisciplinary in nature because it intends to cover disciplines of socio-economics / demographics, capacity building, gender and environmental adaptation. The study will attempt to incorporate in its analysis the locations of shea trees and how long women need to travel in order to pick up shea nuts. This will help understand and quantify women's time spent in gathering shea nuts and the relation to incomes. It will also involve various stakeholders in the field of water and food security. Notable among them will be local government authorities in the North Gonja district of the Northern region, women in Shea processing, youth and women development leaders, NGOs working in Shea processing, academia and some state agencies and policy makers. Its impact will have a wide geographical spectrum not only in North Gonja and other dryland areas in Ghana but also in Malawi and Kenya where Shea marketing is high, as well as in other countries with drylands in sub Saharan Africa. The project will ultimately support capacity building of identified women who may want to form a cooperative to enhance their selling power. The capacity building will seek to enhance their understanding of the Shea marketing value chain and empower them to participate more fully in it so they can demand favourable pricing for their products and ensure positive impacts on their livelihoods. It is expected that the capacities built will be extended to other women in the industry. This in the long term will contribute significantly to women's increased ability to influence the Shea marketing chain positively, thereby increasing their market returns on Shea products and thus contributing to improved livelihoods of households with women in Shea processing. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Assessing wellbeing outcomes of women Shea processors in Northern Ghana |
| Organisation | University of Ghana |
| Country | Ghana |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Shea production helps reduce poverty through exports and increases food security among the population by providing income for subsistence. At the same time, although it is affected by climate variability and change, the Shea tree has characteristics that make it a resistant crop, while its genetic diversity gives it high spontaneous adaptive capacity and enables domestication. Shea is also beneficial to the overall resilience of the ecosystem, maintaining soil fertility and biodiversity of flora and fauna. The study will therefore attempt to understand the gendered division of labour within the Shea market value chain, focusing on how the specific roles of women from nut gathering, crushing, processing into oil and / butter for sale locally as well as only picking for large scale buyers, influences the wellbeing of the women who are the primary source of the raw material in Shea production (Shea nut) |
| Collaborator Contribution | Research question and Aim: The general research question is: What are the roles, responsibilities and power relations that exist in the Shea market value chain? The primary aim is to comprehensively assess the impact of Shea commercialization at the domestic and large scale levels on the wellbeing of women involved in Shea processing. Specific Objectives Specifically, the objectives of the study include to • Assess the tangible earnings and benefits of women in local/rural Shea production • Assess the roles, responsibilities and challenges of women in the market value chain of Shea products (nuts and butter) both in the local and international markets • Assess how the identified roles and responsibilities of women in the Shea market value chain impacts on their objective wellbeing in terms of material conditions (Income and wealth; jobs and earnings and housing) • Assess how the identified roles and responsibilities of women in the Shea market value chain impacts their subjective wellbeing in terms of quality of life (health status; work and life balance; education and skills; social connections; civic engagement and governance; environmental quality; personal security) • Suggest some policy recommendations towards addressing the challenges associated with women's roles and responsibilities in the Shea market value chain and how this can contribute to food security |
| Impact | The project is interdisciplinary in nature because it intends to cover disciplines of socio-economics / demographics, capacity building, gender and environmental adaptation. The study will attempt to incorporate in its analysis the locations of shea trees and how long women need to travel in order to pick up shea nuts. This will help understand and quantify women's time spent in gathering shea nuts and the relation to incomes. It will also involve various stakeholders in the field of water and food security. Notable among them will be local government authorities in the North Gonja district of the Northern region, women in Shea processing, youth and women development leaders, NGOs working in Shea processing, academia and some state agencies and policy makers. Its impact will have a wide geographical spectrum not only in North Gonja and other dryland areas in Ghana but also in Malawi and Kenya where Shea marketing is high, as well as in other countries with drylands in sub Saharan Africa. The project will ultimately support capacity building of identified women who may want to form a cooperative to enhance their selling power. The capacity building will seek to enhance their understanding of the Shea marketing value chain and empower them to participate more fully in it so they can demand favourable pricing for their products and ensure positive impacts on their livelihoods. It is expected that the capacities built will be extended to other women in the industry. This in the long term will contribute significantly to women's increased ability to influence the Shea marketing chain positively, thereby increasing their market returns on Shea products and thus contributing to improved livelihoods of households with women in Shea processing. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Building capacity for food and water security policy Kitui and Wajir counties of Kenya |
| Organisation | International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | In this small research project, we are addressing the challenge of policy uptake within food and water security. Policy is a cross cutting issue that affects the ability of countries to have positive food and water security outcomes. In the Kenyan context there are a number of policies addressing food and water security in the drylands but a number of them are not effective, have not been implemented and are not based on scientific evidence. One of the reasons for this is the policy process is not institutionalised, especially at the county level with consultants being hired to provide expertise and draft policies without localising the knowledge. With the devolved system of government coming in 2013, county governments are now being required to draft their policies, while they lack capacity in understanding the policy process. What needs to change is local capacity for policy making within county governments. This research will help achieve this change through engaging with policy actors at county and national government level as well as non-governmental organizations using co-production to understand the policy context and how best to create institutional memory on policy within these two counties. New insights will be provided by looking at co production in policy, building on literature of creating institutional memory and exploring how the theory of habitus can contribute to our understanding of institutional policy processes. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The purpose of this project is therefore two-fold. Firstly, through qualitative interviews with policy makers and other stakeholders in the two counties, to understand the policy environment surrounding food and water security, especially at the county level, but also providing a comparison to policy making at the national level. This will establish points of convergence and divergence between the two levels of governance and be able to give recommendations under a multi-governance framework. This will provide a more detailed map of where the gaps in policy formulation and implementation lie, and realistically, how this small research project can address them, within the context of a training workshop. Secondly, through this understanding of the policy environment and policy gaps, a training workshop is proposed to address these gaps. The design and content of the workshop will be developed in conjunction with CO-I mentors on the project as well as expertise within the BRECcIA team and externally through engagement with specialist policy insitutions the Kenya public policy research institute (KIPPRA) and @public policy Southampton. |
| Impact | The expected result of this is to understand how institutional memory can be created in order to ensure that the processes of policy formulation and implementation are embedded within the counties, especially in reference to food and water security. Institutional memory here is understood through a WHO definition as documentation, knowledge management and the intellectual capital expressed through people's capacity and social capital. The key outputs would be at least 20 policy actors trained, policy briefs, and progress towards the development of county level policies on food and water security. Moreover, a database of food and water security policies as requested by the stakeholders will be completed. In addition, through working with stakeholders such as the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) and the ADA consortium, and the ASAL stakeholder's forum there is the possibility of scaling up of our findings and interventions to other ASAL counties. A methodology document/paper will also be developed. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Building capacity for food and water security policy Kitui and Wajir counties of Kenya |
| Organisation | Kenyatta University |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | In this small research project, we are addressing the challenge of policy uptake within food and water security. Policy is a cross cutting issue that affects the ability of countries to have positive food and water security outcomes. In the Kenyan context there are a number of policies addressing food and water security in the drylands but a number of them are not effective, have not been implemented and are not based on scientific evidence. One of the reasons for this is the policy process is not institutionalised, especially at the county level with consultants being hired to provide expertise and draft policies without localising the knowledge. With the devolved system of government coming in 2013, county governments are now being required to draft their policies, while they lack capacity in understanding the policy process. What needs to change is local capacity for policy making within county governments. This research will help achieve this change through engaging with policy actors at county and national government level as well as non-governmental organizations using co-production to understand the policy context and how best to create institutional memory on policy within these two counties. New insights will be provided by looking at co production in policy, building on literature of creating institutional memory and exploring how the theory of habitus can contribute to our understanding of institutional policy processes. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The purpose of this project is therefore two-fold. Firstly, through qualitative interviews with policy makers and other stakeholders in the two counties, to understand the policy environment surrounding food and water security, especially at the county level, but also providing a comparison to policy making at the national level. This will establish points of convergence and divergence between the two levels of governance and be able to give recommendations under a multi-governance framework. This will provide a more detailed map of where the gaps in policy formulation and implementation lie, and realistically, how this small research project can address them, within the context of a training workshop. Secondly, through this understanding of the policy environment and policy gaps, a training workshop is proposed to address these gaps. The design and content of the workshop will be developed in conjunction with CO-I mentors on the project as well as expertise within the BRECcIA team and externally through engagement with specialist policy insitutions the Kenya public policy research institute (KIPPRA) and @public policy Southampton. |
| Impact | The expected result of this is to understand how institutional memory can be created in order to ensure that the processes of policy formulation and implementation are embedded within the counties, especially in reference to food and water security. Institutional memory here is understood through a WHO definition as documentation, knowledge management and the intellectual capital expressed through people's capacity and social capital. The key outputs would be at least 20 policy actors trained, policy briefs, and progress towards the development of county level policies on food and water security. Moreover, a database of food and water security policies as requested by the stakeholders will be completed. In addition, through working with stakeholders such as the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) and the ADA consortium, and the ASAL stakeholder's forum there is the possibility of scaling up of our findings and interventions to other ASAL counties. A methodology document/paper will also be developed. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Building capacity for food and water security policy Kitui and Wajir counties of Kenya |
| Organisation | Southern African Development Community |
| Department | Waternet |
| Country | Zimbabwe |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | In this small research project, we are addressing the challenge of policy uptake within food and water security. Policy is a cross cutting issue that affects the ability of countries to have positive food and water security outcomes. In the Kenyan context there are a number of policies addressing food and water security in the drylands but a number of them are not effective, have not been implemented and are not based on scientific evidence. One of the reasons for this is the policy process is not institutionalised, especially at the county level with consultants being hired to provide expertise and draft policies without localising the knowledge. With the devolved system of government coming in 2013, county governments are now being required to draft their policies, while they lack capacity in understanding the policy process. What needs to change is local capacity for policy making within county governments. This research will help achieve this change through engaging with policy actors at county and national government level as well as non-governmental organizations using co-production to understand the policy context and how best to create institutional memory on policy within these two counties. New insights will be provided by looking at co production in policy, building on literature of creating institutional memory and exploring how the theory of habitus can contribute to our understanding of institutional policy processes. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The purpose of this project is therefore two-fold. Firstly, through qualitative interviews with policy makers and other stakeholders in the two counties, to understand the policy environment surrounding food and water security, especially at the county level, but also providing a comparison to policy making at the national level. This will establish points of convergence and divergence between the two levels of governance and be able to give recommendations under a multi-governance framework. This will provide a more detailed map of where the gaps in policy formulation and implementation lie, and realistically, how this small research project can address them, within the context of a training workshop. Secondly, through this understanding of the policy environment and policy gaps, a training workshop is proposed to address these gaps. The design and content of the workshop will be developed in conjunction with CO-I mentors on the project as well as expertise within the BRECcIA team and externally through engagement with specialist policy insitutions the Kenya public policy research institute (KIPPRA) and @public policy Southampton. |
| Impact | The expected result of this is to understand how institutional memory can be created in order to ensure that the processes of policy formulation and implementation are embedded within the counties, especially in reference to food and water security. Institutional memory here is understood through a WHO definition as documentation, knowledge management and the intellectual capital expressed through people's capacity and social capital. The key outputs would be at least 20 policy actors trained, policy briefs, and progress towards the development of county level policies on food and water security. Moreover, a database of food and water security policies as requested by the stakeholders will be completed. In addition, through working with stakeholders such as the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) and the ADA consortium, and the ASAL stakeholder's forum there is the possibility of scaling up of our findings and interventions to other ASAL counties. A methodology document/paper will also be developed. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Capacity building and variability in the drylands of Ghana and Kenya |
| Organisation | Kenyatta University |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This is a multi-phased research and capacity building project that investigates resilience, livelihoods and variability within the context of land restoration interventions in drylands. . We will facilitate a participatory learning and action (PLA) programme that aims to enhance the capacity of communities to inform policy as well as shape the design and implementation of interventions. The PLA programme includes skills training for local researchers, some of whom potentially will conduct research linked to BRECcIA. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This is a research and capacity building project that will engage in participatory research on development interventions in Ghana and Kenya. Broadly, the aim is to conduct community- and household-scale research that yields findings which will be useful to policymakers, stakeholders and communities. In Ghana*, we will conduct fieldwork on land restoration interventions in Talensi district as well as possibly on irrigation schemes around Tono river (this might be in the district of Kissena-Nankana East). In Kenya** we will conduct fieldwork on land restoration interventions (also possibly devolved climate finance) in the semi-arid county of Kitui. |
| Impact | We aim to provide analysis and policy advice to stakeholders who are actively attempting to strengthen the socio-ecological resilience of dryland communities in Kenya and Ghana. This project is transdisciplinary as it seeks to engage in capacity building and action research with stakeholders. The participatory tools we will use are interdisciplinary as they integrate methods and insights from development studies, human geography, social-ecological studies and social anthropology. As we envisage that this project will provide an opportunity to upscale from the household and community to higher scales, we hope that this will also provide scope for integrating natural science disciplines during phases 2 and 3. Expected Outputs include: 1) 2-3 policy briefs with recommendations for strengthening resilience building interventions (intended audiences: policymakers and development actors). 2) One working paper that comparatively evaluates the methodologies, outcomes, (potential) pathways to impact, and successes and gaps of collaborating with communities and stakeholders on a co-designed and co-produced research and capacity building project in drylands. Co-authors will include Project Lead, Co-Researchers and potentially stakeholders. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Capacity building and variability in the drylands of Ghana and Kenya |
| Organisation | University for Development Studies |
| Country | Ghana |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This is a multi-phased research and capacity building project that investigates resilience, livelihoods and variability within the context of land restoration interventions in drylands. . We will facilitate a participatory learning and action (PLA) programme that aims to enhance the capacity of communities to inform policy as well as shape the design and implementation of interventions. The PLA programme includes skills training for local researchers, some of whom potentially will conduct research linked to BRECcIA. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This is a research and capacity building project that will engage in participatory research on development interventions in Ghana and Kenya. Broadly, the aim is to conduct community- and household-scale research that yields findings which will be useful to policymakers, stakeholders and communities. In Ghana*, we will conduct fieldwork on land restoration interventions in Talensi district as well as possibly on irrigation schemes around Tono river (this might be in the district of Kissena-Nankana East). In Kenya** we will conduct fieldwork on land restoration interventions (also possibly devolved climate finance) in the semi-arid county of Kitui. |
| Impact | We aim to provide analysis and policy advice to stakeholders who are actively attempting to strengthen the socio-ecological resilience of dryland communities in Kenya and Ghana. This project is transdisciplinary as it seeks to engage in capacity building and action research with stakeholders. The participatory tools we will use are interdisciplinary as they integrate methods and insights from development studies, human geography, social-ecological studies and social anthropology. As we envisage that this project will provide an opportunity to upscale from the household and community to higher scales, we hope that this will also provide scope for integrating natural science disciplines during phases 2 and 3. Expected Outputs include: 1) 2-3 policy briefs with recommendations for strengthening resilience building interventions (intended audiences: policymakers and development actors). 2) One working paper that comparatively evaluates the methodologies, outcomes, (potential) pathways to impact, and successes and gaps of collaborating with communities and stakeholders on a co-designed and co-produced research and capacity building project in drylands. Co-authors will include Project Lead, Co-Researchers and potentially stakeholders. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Capacity building and variability in the drylands of Ghana and Kenya |
| Organisation | University of Ghana |
| Country | Ghana |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This is a multi-phased research and capacity building project that investigates resilience, livelihoods and variability within the context of land restoration interventions in drylands. . We will facilitate a participatory learning and action (PLA) programme that aims to enhance the capacity of communities to inform policy as well as shape the design and implementation of interventions. The PLA programme includes skills training for local researchers, some of whom potentially will conduct research linked to BRECcIA. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This is a research and capacity building project that will engage in participatory research on development interventions in Ghana and Kenya. Broadly, the aim is to conduct community- and household-scale research that yields findings which will be useful to policymakers, stakeholders and communities. In Ghana*, we will conduct fieldwork on land restoration interventions in Talensi district as well as possibly on irrigation schemes around Tono river (this might be in the district of Kissena-Nankana East). In Kenya** we will conduct fieldwork on land restoration interventions (also possibly devolved climate finance) in the semi-arid county of Kitui. |
| Impact | We aim to provide analysis and policy advice to stakeholders who are actively attempting to strengthen the socio-ecological resilience of dryland communities in Kenya and Ghana. This project is transdisciplinary as it seeks to engage in capacity building and action research with stakeholders. The participatory tools we will use are interdisciplinary as they integrate methods and insights from development studies, human geography, social-ecological studies and social anthropology. As we envisage that this project will provide an opportunity to upscale from the household and community to higher scales, we hope that this will also provide scope for integrating natural science disciplines during phases 2 and 3. Expected Outputs include: 1) 2-3 policy briefs with recommendations for strengthening resilience building interventions (intended audiences: policymakers and development actors). 2) One working paper that comparatively evaluates the methodologies, outcomes, (potential) pathways to impact, and successes and gaps of collaborating with communities and stakeholders on a co-designed and co-produced research and capacity building project in drylands. Co-authors will include Project Lead, Co-Researchers and potentially stakeholders. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Climate Change, Food Beliefs and Food Security in Drylands of Northern Ghana |
| Organisation | University for Development Studies |
| Country | Ghana |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This research, targeted at informing policy and helping build community resilience, aims to understand how food beliefs impact food security under a changing climate in Northern Ghana. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This study looks at the impact of climate change on the drivers of food security. Food beliefs may keep people from changing their food production and eating habits or may themselves also be changed. The study seeks to find out how climate change affects people's food choices and how people's food choices might exacerbate the problems brought on by climate change (Figure 1). This research seeks to answer the question, "How do food beliefs influence household food security in dryland communities amidst climate change in Ghana?" The main objective of this study is to examine how beliefs are formed about food and their implications for sustainable food security amidst climate change among agro pastoral households in dryland areas of Northern Ghana. The specific objectives of the research are: i. To explore the extent to which local food beliefs shape food production and consumption in dryland communities in northern Ghana ii. To examine how local food beliefs evolve with changing environmental and economic contexts in drylands in Ghana iii. To investigate the gender underpinnings of food beliefs and food security in northern Ghana |
| Impact | This project is designed to include perspectives from food anthropology, human geography, gender and development studies. Different social science perspectives will be drawn upon to assess community members' changing food beliefs, perceptions and practices using observations, semi-structured interviews and participatory learning and action methods. In all, the project incorporates knowledge about culture, environment, economics and nutrition to investigate how culturally ingrained norms that affect household food security evolve with changing climate and socioeconomic systems. The research outputs, which include policy briefs, and research articles will be tailored to make recommendations for policies related to food security |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Climate Change, Food Beliefs and Food Security in Drylands of Northern Ghana |
| Organisation | University of Ghana |
| Country | Ghana |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This research, targeted at informing policy and helping build community resilience, aims to understand how food beliefs impact food security under a changing climate in Northern Ghana. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This study looks at the impact of climate change on the drivers of food security. Food beliefs may keep people from changing their food production and eating habits or may themselves also be changed. The study seeks to find out how climate change affects people's food choices and how people's food choices might exacerbate the problems brought on by climate change (Figure 1). This research seeks to answer the question, "How do food beliefs influence household food security in dryland communities amidst climate change in Ghana?" The main objective of this study is to examine how beliefs are formed about food and their implications for sustainable food security amidst climate change among agro pastoral households in dryland areas of Northern Ghana. The specific objectives of the research are: i. To explore the extent to which local food beliefs shape food production and consumption in dryland communities in northern Ghana ii. To examine how local food beliefs evolve with changing environmental and economic contexts in drylands in Ghana iii. To investigate the gender underpinnings of food beliefs and food security in northern Ghana |
| Impact | This project is designed to include perspectives from food anthropology, human geography, gender and development studies. Different social science perspectives will be drawn upon to assess community members' changing food beliefs, perceptions and practices using observations, semi-structured interviews and participatory learning and action methods. In all, the project incorporates knowledge about culture, environment, economics and nutrition to investigate how culturally ingrained norms that affect household food security evolve with changing climate and socioeconomic systems. The research outputs, which include policy briefs, and research articles will be tailored to make recommendations for policies related to food security |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Comparative analysis of mainstreaming climate information services use for water and food security in the drylands of Malawi, Ghana, and Kenya: supply versus demand |
| Organisation | Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services Malawi |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | The research project will assess: the existing institutional, implementation and governance arrangement, type of products produced (supply side) and how they are transmitted to end users (demand side), how the CIS products inform extension delivery and decision making on seasonal farm calendar, link to existing resilience building agricultural interventions, and level of CIS integration into development planning at national and local government level. The research will inform policy makers on the need to properly include CIS in the local government and national adaptation plans and policies. On the other hand, specific CIS products needed by boundary institutions and farmers will be highlighted and advocated for co-production and co-management (linking supply and demand). |
| Collaborator Contribution | The comparative research will be carried out in Malawi (Ntcheu and Salima districts), Ghana (Talensi-Nabdam / Kasena-Nankana District), and Kenya (West Pokot county) around the following questions: 1. What knowledge resources (local/external knowledge) relating to climate information service are available in the study sites, socially differentiated access, and use (information challenge - demand side)? 2. What governance arrangements (both formal and informal) serve as barriers or enablers for the generation and transfer of knowledge relating to climate information service and climate change adaptation in the study sites (domain challenge - supply side)? 3. To what extent is climate information used in the current coping and adaptation strategies of the socially differentiated and gendered groups to (climatic and non-climatic) risks? 4. How do the processes of knowledge exchange and learning hinder or enable effective and sustained adaptation to climate change in ASALs regions? 5. Assess the level of inclusion of climate information services (both traditional and scientific) into local government and national development policies Mixed methods both qualitative and quantitative including FGDs, key informant interviews and questionnaires will be employed with target institutions, extension workers in the Ministry of Agriculture and farmers where necessary and as appropriate. Snowball sampling method supported by a recall list will be used to identify individuals, groups and institutions involved in CIS at the national, district and community level. A social network analysis (SNA) will be done to understand the relationship among the various stakeholders in the CIS value chain. Data collection will be disaggregated by gender to identify gaps and help develop strategies to fill those gaps and improve equality. |
| Impact | The study will contribute towards increased efficiency, effectiveness, equity and robustness of climate information service development, transfer and use. The CIS value chain will be identified and the adoption of the National Climate Information Service Framework advocated for effective implementation. A policy brief will be produced for policy makers and appropriate approaches to co-production of CIS products developed. A gender lens will be added to the whole processes on CIS co-production and co-management, access and use to cater for the most vulnerable in the target communities. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Comparative analysis of mainstreaming climate information services use for water and food security in the drylands of Malawi, Ghana, and Kenya: supply versus demand |
| Organisation | Leadership for Environment and Development Southern and Eastern Africa |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | The research project will assess: the existing institutional, implementation and governance arrangement, type of products produced (supply side) and how they are transmitted to end users (demand side), how the CIS products inform extension delivery and decision making on seasonal farm calendar, link to existing resilience building agricultural interventions, and level of CIS integration into development planning at national and local government level. The research will inform policy makers on the need to properly include CIS in the local government and national adaptation plans and policies. On the other hand, specific CIS products needed by boundary institutions and farmers will be highlighted and advocated for co-production and co-management (linking supply and demand). |
| Collaborator Contribution | The comparative research will be carried out in Malawi (Ntcheu and Salima districts), Ghana (Talensi-Nabdam / Kasena-Nankana District), and Kenya (West Pokot county) around the following questions: 1. What knowledge resources (local/external knowledge) relating to climate information service are available in the study sites, socially differentiated access, and use (information challenge - demand side)? 2. What governance arrangements (both formal and informal) serve as barriers or enablers for the generation and transfer of knowledge relating to climate information service and climate change adaptation in the study sites (domain challenge - supply side)? 3. To what extent is climate information used in the current coping and adaptation strategies of the socially differentiated and gendered groups to (climatic and non-climatic) risks? 4. How do the processes of knowledge exchange and learning hinder or enable effective and sustained adaptation to climate change in ASALs regions? 5. Assess the level of inclusion of climate information services (both traditional and scientific) into local government and national development policies Mixed methods both qualitative and quantitative including FGDs, key informant interviews and questionnaires will be employed with target institutions, extension workers in the Ministry of Agriculture and farmers where necessary and as appropriate. Snowball sampling method supported by a recall list will be used to identify individuals, groups and institutions involved in CIS at the national, district and community level. A social network analysis (SNA) will be done to understand the relationship among the various stakeholders in the CIS value chain. Data collection will be disaggregated by gender to identify gaps and help develop strategies to fill those gaps and improve equality. |
| Impact | The study will contribute towards increased efficiency, effectiveness, equity and robustness of climate information service development, transfer and use. The CIS value chain will be identified and the adoption of the National Climate Information Service Framework advocated for effective implementation. A policy brief will be produced for policy makers and appropriate approaches to co-production of CIS products developed. A gender lens will be added to the whole processes on CIS co-production and co-management, access and use to cater for the most vulnerable in the target communities. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Comparative analysis of mainstreaming climate information services use for water and food security in the drylands of Malawi, Ghana, and Kenya: supply versus demand |
| Organisation | Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The research project will assess: the existing institutional, implementation and governance arrangement, type of products produced (supply side) and how they are transmitted to end users (demand side), how the CIS products inform extension delivery and decision making on seasonal farm calendar, link to existing resilience building agricultural interventions, and level of CIS integration into development planning at national and local government level. The research will inform policy makers on the need to properly include CIS in the local government and national adaptation plans and policies. On the other hand, specific CIS products needed by boundary institutions and farmers will be highlighted and advocated for co-production and co-management (linking supply and demand). |
| Collaborator Contribution | The comparative research will be carried out in Malawi (Ntcheu and Salima districts), Ghana (Talensi-Nabdam / Kasena-Nankana District), and Kenya (West Pokot county) around the following questions: 1. What knowledge resources (local/external knowledge) relating to climate information service are available in the study sites, socially differentiated access, and use (information challenge - demand side)? 2. What governance arrangements (both formal and informal) serve as barriers or enablers for the generation and transfer of knowledge relating to climate information service and climate change adaptation in the study sites (domain challenge - supply side)? 3. To what extent is climate information used in the current coping and adaptation strategies of the socially differentiated and gendered groups to (climatic and non-climatic) risks? 4. How do the processes of knowledge exchange and learning hinder or enable effective and sustained adaptation to climate change in ASALs regions? 5. Assess the level of inclusion of climate information services (both traditional and scientific) into local government and national development policies Mixed methods both qualitative and quantitative including FGDs, key informant interviews and questionnaires will be employed with target institutions, extension workers in the Ministry of Agriculture and farmers where necessary and as appropriate. Snowball sampling method supported by a recall list will be used to identify individuals, groups and institutions involved in CIS at the national, district and community level. A social network analysis (SNA) will be done to understand the relationship among the various stakeholders in the CIS value chain. Data collection will be disaggregated by gender to identify gaps and help develop strategies to fill those gaps and improve equality. |
| Impact | The study will contribute towards increased efficiency, effectiveness, equity and robustness of climate information service development, transfer and use. The CIS value chain will be identified and the adoption of the National Climate Information Service Framework advocated for effective implementation. A policy brief will be produced for policy makers and appropriate approaches to co-production of CIS products developed. A gender lens will be added to the whole processes on CIS co-production and co-management, access and use to cater for the most vulnerable in the target communities. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Comparative analysis of mainstreaming climate information services use for water and food security in the drylands of Malawi, Ghana, and Kenya: supply versus demand |
| Organisation | Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development |
| Department | Department of Land Resources and Conservation |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | The research project will assess: the existing institutional, implementation and governance arrangement, type of products produced (supply side) and how they are transmitted to end users (demand side), how the CIS products inform extension delivery and decision making on seasonal farm calendar, link to existing resilience building agricultural interventions, and level of CIS integration into development planning at national and local government level. The research will inform policy makers on the need to properly include CIS in the local government and national adaptation plans and policies. On the other hand, specific CIS products needed by boundary institutions and farmers will be highlighted and advocated for co-production and co-management (linking supply and demand). |
| Collaborator Contribution | The comparative research will be carried out in Malawi (Ntcheu and Salima districts), Ghana (Talensi-Nabdam / Kasena-Nankana District), and Kenya (West Pokot county) around the following questions: 1. What knowledge resources (local/external knowledge) relating to climate information service are available in the study sites, socially differentiated access, and use (information challenge - demand side)? 2. What governance arrangements (both formal and informal) serve as barriers or enablers for the generation and transfer of knowledge relating to climate information service and climate change adaptation in the study sites (domain challenge - supply side)? 3. To what extent is climate information used in the current coping and adaptation strategies of the socially differentiated and gendered groups to (climatic and non-climatic) risks? 4. How do the processes of knowledge exchange and learning hinder or enable effective and sustained adaptation to climate change in ASALs regions? 5. Assess the level of inclusion of climate information services (both traditional and scientific) into local government and national development policies Mixed methods both qualitative and quantitative including FGDs, key informant interviews and questionnaires will be employed with target institutions, extension workers in the Ministry of Agriculture and farmers where necessary and as appropriate. Snowball sampling method supported by a recall list will be used to identify individuals, groups and institutions involved in CIS at the national, district and community level. A social network analysis (SNA) will be done to understand the relationship among the various stakeholders in the CIS value chain. Data collection will be disaggregated by gender to identify gaps and help develop strategies to fill those gaps and improve equality. |
| Impact | The study will contribute towards increased efficiency, effectiveness, equity and robustness of climate information service development, transfer and use. The CIS value chain will be identified and the adoption of the National Climate Information Service Framework advocated for effective implementation. A policy brief will be produced for policy makers and appropriate approaches to co-production of CIS products developed. A gender lens will be added to the whole processes on CIS co-production and co-management, access and use to cater for the most vulnerable in the target communities. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Comparative analysis of mainstreaming climate information services use for water and food security in the drylands of Malawi, Ghana, and Kenya: supply versus demand |
| Organisation | University of Ghana |
| Country | Ghana |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The research project will assess: the existing institutional, implementation and governance arrangement, type of products produced (supply side) and how they are transmitted to end users (demand side), how the CIS products inform extension delivery and decision making on seasonal farm calendar, link to existing resilience building agricultural interventions, and level of CIS integration into development planning at national and local government level. The research will inform policy makers on the need to properly include CIS in the local government and national adaptation plans and policies. On the other hand, specific CIS products needed by boundary institutions and farmers will be highlighted and advocated for co-production and co-management (linking supply and demand). |
| Collaborator Contribution | The comparative research will be carried out in Malawi (Ntcheu and Salima districts), Ghana (Talensi-Nabdam / Kasena-Nankana District), and Kenya (West Pokot county) around the following questions: 1. What knowledge resources (local/external knowledge) relating to climate information service are available in the study sites, socially differentiated access, and use (information challenge - demand side)? 2. What governance arrangements (both formal and informal) serve as barriers or enablers for the generation and transfer of knowledge relating to climate information service and climate change adaptation in the study sites (domain challenge - supply side)? 3. To what extent is climate information used in the current coping and adaptation strategies of the socially differentiated and gendered groups to (climatic and non-climatic) risks? 4. How do the processes of knowledge exchange and learning hinder or enable effective and sustained adaptation to climate change in ASALs regions? 5. Assess the level of inclusion of climate information services (both traditional and scientific) into local government and national development policies Mixed methods both qualitative and quantitative including FGDs, key informant interviews and questionnaires will be employed with target institutions, extension workers in the Ministry of Agriculture and farmers where necessary and as appropriate. Snowball sampling method supported by a recall list will be used to identify individuals, groups and institutions involved in CIS at the national, district and community level. A social network analysis (SNA) will be done to understand the relationship among the various stakeholders in the CIS value chain. Data collection will be disaggregated by gender to identify gaps and help develop strategies to fill those gaps and improve equality. |
| Impact | The study will contribute towards increased efficiency, effectiveness, equity and robustness of climate information service development, transfer and use. The CIS value chain will be identified and the adoption of the National Climate Information Service Framework advocated for effective implementation. A policy brief will be produced for policy makers and appropriate approaches to co-production of CIS products developed. A gender lens will be added to the whole processes on CIS co-production and co-management, access and use to cater for the most vulnerable in the target communities. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Comparative analysis of mainstreaming climate information services use for water and food security in the drylands of Malawi, Ghana, and Kenya: supply versus demand |
| Organisation | University of Malawi |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The research project will assess: the existing institutional, implementation and governance arrangement, type of products produced (supply side) and how they are transmitted to end users (demand side), how the CIS products inform extension delivery and decision making on seasonal farm calendar, link to existing resilience building agricultural interventions, and level of CIS integration into development planning at national and local government level. The research will inform policy makers on the need to properly include CIS in the local government and national adaptation plans and policies. On the other hand, specific CIS products needed by boundary institutions and farmers will be highlighted and advocated for co-production and co-management (linking supply and demand). |
| Collaborator Contribution | The comparative research will be carried out in Malawi (Ntcheu and Salima districts), Ghana (Talensi-Nabdam / Kasena-Nankana District), and Kenya (West Pokot county) around the following questions: 1. What knowledge resources (local/external knowledge) relating to climate information service are available in the study sites, socially differentiated access, and use (information challenge - demand side)? 2. What governance arrangements (both formal and informal) serve as barriers or enablers for the generation and transfer of knowledge relating to climate information service and climate change adaptation in the study sites (domain challenge - supply side)? 3. To what extent is climate information used in the current coping and adaptation strategies of the socially differentiated and gendered groups to (climatic and non-climatic) risks? 4. How do the processes of knowledge exchange and learning hinder or enable effective and sustained adaptation to climate change in ASALs regions? 5. Assess the level of inclusion of climate information services (both traditional and scientific) into local government and national development policies Mixed methods both qualitative and quantitative including FGDs, key informant interviews and questionnaires will be employed with target institutions, extension workers in the Ministry of Agriculture and farmers where necessary and as appropriate. Snowball sampling method supported by a recall list will be used to identify individuals, groups and institutions involved in CIS at the national, district and community level. A social network analysis (SNA) will be done to understand the relationship among the various stakeholders in the CIS value chain. Data collection will be disaggregated by gender to identify gaps and help develop strategies to fill those gaps and improve equality. |
| Impact | The study will contribute towards increased efficiency, effectiveness, equity and robustness of climate information service development, transfer and use. The CIS value chain will be identified and the adoption of the National Climate Information Service Framework advocated for effective implementation. A policy brief will be produced for policy makers and appropriate approaches to co-production of CIS products developed. A gender lens will be added to the whole processes on CIS co-production and co-management, access and use to cater for the most vulnerable in the target communities. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Comprehensive assessment of small-scale irrigation cropland using Remotely Piloted Aircrafts (RPAs) technology - Case of Lake Chilwa Basin, Southern Malawi |
| Organisation | Leadership for Environment and Development Southern and Eastern Africa |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | This research aims at utilizing Remotely Piloted Aircrafts (RPAs) as an affordable source of remote sensing data for precision agriculture Assessment of the level of water utilisation with a special focus on small-scale irrigation using RPAs will help to quantify the total size of land under irrigation and the size of food output to feed the growing population. Geographical Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) based approaches will be used for processing and interpretation of the drone imagery. The drone capacity as a remote sensing data collection platform will add a new dimension in RS capabilities for managing water and food security. The research will be implemented at Lake Chilwa basin in Southern Malawi and will be scaled out to drylands in Ghana and Kenya. The potential impacts include improved research capacity in the use of drones, improved access to information by smallholder farmers and dryland pastoralists on resilience building to climate and evidence based policy changes regarding the acceptance of technology (drones) for problem solving in the these countries. |
| Collaborator Contribution | A new Small Research Projects team will work together to Project objectives: • Train 25 researchers in drone applications for precision agriculture and water security monitoring (Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and the UK) • Temporal and spatial small scale irrigation and water management data collection in sampled sites in Lake Chilwa Basin, & replicated in other sites in Kenya and Ghana • Analyse impact of poor water abstraction technologies on sustainable food security and water budget • Demonstrate evidence based research results for irrigation policy and food & nutrition policy changes. |
| Impact | The project is interdisciplinary in nature and across wide geographical spectrum. The interdisciplinary is shown by integration of research team with different back grounds. Prof Sosten Chiotha is environmental scientist who has studied the link between water degradation and infestation schistosomiasis; Dr Wales Singini is fisheries scientist and a research fellow who has studies fisheries in many water bodies of Malawi including Lake Chilwa and its rivers; Prof Mauli Dzodzomenyo is an environmental health and microbiology specialist and a team leader for Ghana; Chengxiu Li is a PhD Student and senior research assistant with GIS and Remote Sensing background; Fanuel Kapute is senior lecturer and research scientist with vast experience in agriculture and food security including fisheries; Prof John Obiri is a senior research scientist and team leader for Kenya. Co-I Mentor for this project is Prof Jadu Dash who is a Professor in Remote Sensing The anticipated outcomes will include: a. 25 researchers able to operate and manage drone data and training resources b. 1 peer reviewed articles on drone technology for water quality monitoring to be published c. One video documentary produced describing impacts of upstream resource management models on small scale irrigation and water security in the wetland and floodplains d. A network of drone operators to be established in each country for enhanced collaboration on future drone research projects e. Drone operation training guide |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Comprehensive assessment of small-scale irrigation cropland using Remotely Piloted Aircrafts (RPAs) technology - Case of Lake Chilwa Basin, Southern Malawi |
| Organisation | Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This research aims at utilizing Remotely Piloted Aircrafts (RPAs) as an affordable source of remote sensing data for precision agriculture Assessment of the level of water utilisation with a special focus on small-scale irrigation using RPAs will help to quantify the total size of land under irrigation and the size of food output to feed the growing population. Geographical Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) based approaches will be used for processing and interpretation of the drone imagery. The drone capacity as a remote sensing data collection platform will add a new dimension in RS capabilities for managing water and food security. The research will be implemented at Lake Chilwa basin in Southern Malawi and will be scaled out to drylands in Ghana and Kenya. The potential impacts include improved research capacity in the use of drones, improved access to information by smallholder farmers and dryland pastoralists on resilience building to climate and evidence based policy changes regarding the acceptance of technology (drones) for problem solving in the these countries. |
| Collaborator Contribution | A new Small Research Projects team will work together to Project objectives: • Train 25 researchers in drone applications for precision agriculture and water security monitoring (Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and the UK) • Temporal and spatial small scale irrigation and water management data collection in sampled sites in Lake Chilwa Basin, & replicated in other sites in Kenya and Ghana • Analyse impact of poor water abstraction technologies on sustainable food security and water budget • Demonstrate evidence based research results for irrigation policy and food & nutrition policy changes. |
| Impact | The project is interdisciplinary in nature and across wide geographical spectrum. The interdisciplinary is shown by integration of research team with different back grounds. Prof Sosten Chiotha is environmental scientist who has studied the link between water degradation and infestation schistosomiasis; Dr Wales Singini is fisheries scientist and a research fellow who has studies fisheries in many water bodies of Malawi including Lake Chilwa and its rivers; Prof Mauli Dzodzomenyo is an environmental health and microbiology specialist and a team leader for Ghana; Chengxiu Li is a PhD Student and senior research assistant with GIS and Remote Sensing background; Fanuel Kapute is senior lecturer and research scientist with vast experience in agriculture and food security including fisheries; Prof John Obiri is a senior research scientist and team leader for Kenya. Co-I Mentor for this project is Prof Jadu Dash who is a Professor in Remote Sensing The anticipated outcomes will include: a. 25 researchers able to operate and manage drone data and training resources b. 1 peer reviewed articles on drone technology for water quality monitoring to be published c. One video documentary produced describing impacts of upstream resource management models on small scale irrigation and water security in the wetland and floodplains d. A network of drone operators to be established in each country for enhanced collaboration on future drone research projects e. Drone operation training guide |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Comprehensive assessment of small-scale irrigation cropland using Remotely Piloted Aircrafts (RPAs) technology - Case of Lake Chilwa Basin, Southern Malawi |
| Organisation | Mzuzu University |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | This research aims at utilizing Remotely Piloted Aircrafts (RPAs) as an affordable source of remote sensing data for precision agriculture Assessment of the level of water utilisation with a special focus on small-scale irrigation using RPAs will help to quantify the total size of land under irrigation and the size of food output to feed the growing population. Geographical Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) based approaches will be used for processing and interpretation of the drone imagery. The drone capacity as a remote sensing data collection platform will add a new dimension in RS capabilities for managing water and food security. The research will be implemented at Lake Chilwa basin in Southern Malawi and will be scaled out to drylands in Ghana and Kenya. The potential impacts include improved research capacity in the use of drones, improved access to information by smallholder farmers and dryland pastoralists on resilience building to climate and evidence based policy changes regarding the acceptance of technology (drones) for problem solving in the these countries. |
| Collaborator Contribution | A new Small Research Projects team will work together to Project objectives: • Train 25 researchers in drone applications for precision agriculture and water security monitoring (Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and the UK) • Temporal and spatial small scale irrigation and water management data collection in sampled sites in Lake Chilwa Basin, & replicated in other sites in Kenya and Ghana • Analyse impact of poor water abstraction technologies on sustainable food security and water budget • Demonstrate evidence based research results for irrigation policy and food & nutrition policy changes. |
| Impact | The project is interdisciplinary in nature and across wide geographical spectrum. The interdisciplinary is shown by integration of research team with different back grounds. Prof Sosten Chiotha is environmental scientist who has studied the link between water degradation and infestation schistosomiasis; Dr Wales Singini is fisheries scientist and a research fellow who has studies fisheries in many water bodies of Malawi including Lake Chilwa and its rivers; Prof Mauli Dzodzomenyo is an environmental health and microbiology specialist and a team leader for Ghana; Chengxiu Li is a PhD Student and senior research assistant with GIS and Remote Sensing background; Fanuel Kapute is senior lecturer and research scientist with vast experience in agriculture and food security including fisheries; Prof John Obiri is a senior research scientist and team leader for Kenya. Co-I Mentor for this project is Prof Jadu Dash who is a Professor in Remote Sensing The anticipated outcomes will include: a. 25 researchers able to operate and manage drone data and training resources b. 1 peer reviewed articles on drone technology for water quality monitoring to be published c. One video documentary produced describing impacts of upstream resource management models on small scale irrigation and water security in the wetland and floodplains d. A network of drone operators to be established in each country for enhanced collaboration on future drone research projects e. Drone operation training guide |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Comprehensive assessment of small-scale irrigation cropland using Remotely Piloted Aircrafts (RPAs) technology - Case of Lake Chilwa Basin, Southern Malawi |
| Organisation | University of Ghana |
| Country | Ghana |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This research aims at utilizing Remotely Piloted Aircrafts (RPAs) as an affordable source of remote sensing data for precision agriculture Assessment of the level of water utilisation with a special focus on small-scale irrigation using RPAs will help to quantify the total size of land under irrigation and the size of food output to feed the growing population. Geographical Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) based approaches will be used for processing and interpretation of the drone imagery. The drone capacity as a remote sensing data collection platform will add a new dimension in RS capabilities for managing water and food security. The research will be implemented at Lake Chilwa basin in Southern Malawi and will be scaled out to drylands in Ghana and Kenya. The potential impacts include improved research capacity in the use of drones, improved access to information by smallholder farmers and dryland pastoralists on resilience building to climate and evidence based policy changes regarding the acceptance of technology (drones) for problem solving in the these countries. |
| Collaborator Contribution | A new Small Research Projects team will work together to Project objectives: • Train 25 researchers in drone applications for precision agriculture and water security monitoring (Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and the UK) • Temporal and spatial small scale irrigation and water management data collection in sampled sites in Lake Chilwa Basin, & replicated in other sites in Kenya and Ghana • Analyse impact of poor water abstraction technologies on sustainable food security and water budget • Demonstrate evidence based research results for irrigation policy and food & nutrition policy changes. |
| Impact | The project is interdisciplinary in nature and across wide geographical spectrum. The interdisciplinary is shown by integration of research team with different back grounds. Prof Sosten Chiotha is environmental scientist who has studied the link between water degradation and infestation schistosomiasis; Dr Wales Singini is fisheries scientist and a research fellow who has studies fisheries in many water bodies of Malawi including Lake Chilwa and its rivers; Prof Mauli Dzodzomenyo is an environmental health and microbiology specialist and a team leader for Ghana; Chengxiu Li is a PhD Student and senior research assistant with GIS and Remote Sensing background; Fanuel Kapute is senior lecturer and research scientist with vast experience in agriculture and food security including fisheries; Prof John Obiri is a senior research scientist and team leader for Kenya. Co-I Mentor for this project is Prof Jadu Dash who is a Professor in Remote Sensing The anticipated outcomes will include: a. 25 researchers able to operate and manage drone data and training resources b. 1 peer reviewed articles on drone technology for water quality monitoring to be published c. One video documentary produced describing impacts of upstream resource management models on small scale irrigation and water security in the wetland and floodplains d. A network of drone operators to be established in each country for enhanced collaboration on future drone research projects e. Drone operation training guide |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Comprehensive assessment of small-scale irrigation cropland using Remotely Piloted Aircrafts (RPAs) technology - Case of Lake Chilwa Basin, Southern Malawi |
| Organisation | University of Southampton |
| Department | University of Southampton Clinical Trials Unit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This research aims at utilizing Remotely Piloted Aircrafts (RPAs) as an affordable source of remote sensing data for precision agriculture Assessment of the level of water utilisation with a special focus on small-scale irrigation using RPAs will help to quantify the total size of land under irrigation and the size of food output to feed the growing population. Geographical Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) based approaches will be used for processing and interpretation of the drone imagery. The drone capacity as a remote sensing data collection platform will add a new dimension in RS capabilities for managing water and food security. The research will be implemented at Lake Chilwa basin in Southern Malawi and will be scaled out to drylands in Ghana and Kenya. The potential impacts include improved research capacity in the use of drones, improved access to information by smallholder farmers and dryland pastoralists on resilience building to climate and evidence based policy changes regarding the acceptance of technology (drones) for problem solving in the these countries. |
| Collaborator Contribution | A new Small Research Projects team will work together to Project objectives: • Train 25 researchers in drone applications for precision agriculture and water security monitoring (Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and the UK) • Temporal and spatial small scale irrigation and water management data collection in sampled sites in Lake Chilwa Basin, & replicated in other sites in Kenya and Ghana • Analyse impact of poor water abstraction technologies on sustainable food security and water budget • Demonstrate evidence based research results for irrigation policy and food & nutrition policy changes. |
| Impact | The project is interdisciplinary in nature and across wide geographical spectrum. The interdisciplinary is shown by integration of research team with different back grounds. Prof Sosten Chiotha is environmental scientist who has studied the link between water degradation and infestation schistosomiasis; Dr Wales Singini is fisheries scientist and a research fellow who has studies fisheries in many water bodies of Malawi including Lake Chilwa and its rivers; Prof Mauli Dzodzomenyo is an environmental health and microbiology specialist and a team leader for Ghana; Chengxiu Li is a PhD Student and senior research assistant with GIS and Remote Sensing background; Fanuel Kapute is senior lecturer and research scientist with vast experience in agriculture and food security including fisheries; Prof John Obiri is a senior research scientist and team leader for Kenya. Co-I Mentor for this project is Prof Jadu Dash who is a Professor in Remote Sensing The anticipated outcomes will include: a. 25 researchers able to operate and manage drone data and training resources b. 1 peer reviewed articles on drone technology for water quality monitoring to be published c. One video documentary produced describing impacts of upstream resource management models on small scale irrigation and water security in the wetland and floodplains d. A network of drone operators to be established in each country for enhanced collaboration on future drone research projects e. Drone operation training guide |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Determining resilience attributable bio-physical, social/gender and political factors that influence Food and Water Security in ASALs of West Pokot and Turkana Counties-Kenya |
| Organisation | Kenya Forest Service |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | This research focuses on identifying which factors promote resilience and then how decisions are made. Some questions are worth considering in this research e.g. what sorts of power issues have to be understood at local and other levels? What is the gendered context for decision-making? What is the unit for decision-making? Household? Family? Lineage? Community? Who is involved and in what capacity? Which sorts of decisions are made at which level (e.g. some might be made at the household level and others at the community level; some might be made by women and others by men; some might relate to local issues and others to regional, national and international ones. What are the parameters of decision-making? How variable/diverse are behaviours and choices, and how does this diversity relate to resilience? The research will also indirectly identify a few types of decisions relevant to resilience and determine how they are related to each other internally as well as how they impact on a community's responses. The broad scope of gender, changing male and female roles, the need for more gender-aware policy making, and women's roles in resilience and adaptation will be considered which requires looking at the ways women participate in decision-making from the household to the national, regional, county and international levels. Using various field assessment methods, this project will consider four overarching notions of resilience i.e. Robustness, Recovery, Reorganization/Adaptation and Re-orientation/Transformation |
| Collaborator Contribution | Partners assist with purposive sampling for Qualitative and Quantitative data, satellite imagery analysis and modelling. The study will also use 10km by 10km Sentinel blocks as per the Land Degradation Surveillance Framework (LDSF) protocol. |
| Impact | Possible impact will be shown and described by; 1. The availability of evidenced based data on water and food security to most Households and livestock. 2. Mapping of water and food insecurity areas using GIS. 3. Reduced level of environment degradation and improved Forest/Tree cover. 4. Adaptation of Sustainable Land Management in the two counties. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Determining resilience attributable bio-physical, social/gender and political factors that influence Food and Water Security in ASALs of West Pokot and Turkana Counties-Kenya |
| Organisation | Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This research focuses on identifying which factors promote resilience and then how decisions are made. Some questions are worth considering in this research e.g. what sorts of power issues have to be understood at local and other levels? What is the gendered context for decision-making? What is the unit for decision-making? Household? Family? Lineage? Community? Who is involved and in what capacity? Which sorts of decisions are made at which level (e.g. some might be made at the household level and others at the community level; some might be made by women and others by men; some might relate to local issues and others to regional, national and international ones. What are the parameters of decision-making? How variable/diverse are behaviours and choices, and how does this diversity relate to resilience? The research will also indirectly identify a few types of decisions relevant to resilience and determine how they are related to each other internally as well as how they impact on a community's responses. The broad scope of gender, changing male and female roles, the need for more gender-aware policy making, and women's roles in resilience and adaptation will be considered which requires looking at the ways women participate in decision-making from the household to the national, regional, county and international levels. Using various field assessment methods, this project will consider four overarching notions of resilience i.e. Robustness, Recovery, Reorganization/Adaptation and Re-orientation/Transformation |
| Collaborator Contribution | Partners assist with purposive sampling for Qualitative and Quantitative data, satellite imagery analysis and modelling. The study will also use 10km by 10km Sentinel blocks as per the Land Degradation Surveillance Framework (LDSF) protocol. |
| Impact | Possible impact will be shown and described by; 1. The availability of evidenced based data on water and food security to most Households and livestock. 2. Mapping of water and food insecurity areas using GIS. 3. Reduced level of environment degradation and improved Forest/Tree cover. 4. Adaptation of Sustainable Land Management in the two counties. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Determining resilience attributable bio-physical, social/gender and political factors that influence Food and Water Security in ASALs of West Pokot and Turkana Counties-Kenya |
| Organisation | World Agroforestry Centre |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | This research focuses on identifying which factors promote resilience and then how decisions are made. Some questions are worth considering in this research e.g. what sorts of power issues have to be understood at local and other levels? What is the gendered context for decision-making? What is the unit for decision-making? Household? Family? Lineage? Community? Who is involved and in what capacity? Which sorts of decisions are made at which level (e.g. some might be made at the household level and others at the community level; some might be made by women and others by men; some might relate to local issues and others to regional, national and international ones. What are the parameters of decision-making? How variable/diverse are behaviours and choices, and how does this diversity relate to resilience? The research will also indirectly identify a few types of decisions relevant to resilience and determine how they are related to each other internally as well as how they impact on a community's responses. The broad scope of gender, changing male and female roles, the need for more gender-aware policy making, and women's roles in resilience and adaptation will be considered which requires looking at the ways women participate in decision-making from the household to the national, regional, county and international levels. Using various field assessment methods, this project will consider four overarching notions of resilience i.e. Robustness, Recovery, Reorganization/Adaptation and Re-orientation/Transformation |
| Collaborator Contribution | Partners assist with purposive sampling for Qualitative and Quantitative data, satellite imagery analysis and modelling. The study will also use 10km by 10km Sentinel blocks as per the Land Degradation Surveillance Framework (LDSF) protocol. |
| Impact | Possible impact will be shown and described by; 1. The availability of evidenced based data on water and food security to most Households and livestock. 2. Mapping of water and food insecurity areas using GIS. 3. Reduced level of environment degradation and improved Forest/Tree cover. 4. Adaptation of Sustainable Land Management in the two counties. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Evaluating Drivers of Aridity in the Lake Chilwa Basin, Malawi |
| Organisation | AGRHYMET Regional Centre (ARC) |
| Country | Global |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | In this study, we will investigate the associated influence of major socio-economic variables of Land Use Land Change change on hydrological responses in Lake Chilwa Basin, Malawi. Lake Chilwa is a terminal or endorheic lake with its catchments located in relatively high rainfall areas of Malawi. However, in recent years the lake has experienced frequent episodes of almost complete dry-ups. Not much is documented on causes and the extent to which socio-economic drivers of LULCC influence such dry-ups. Chilwa basin is of great significance as it encompasses a Ramsar classified wetland that sustains livelihoods through fishing and rice cultivation, and most rivers/streams within the basin are a source of water for domestic and irrigation. Owing to their potential influence on water and food security, the role of LULC change forcing has to be evaluated against other drivers. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Specific objectives: • To analyse the contribution of major drivers/variables of LULC change in the Chilwa basin • To analyse the transitional LULC changes in major classes from 1978-2018 at approximately ten year interval • To analyse the spatio-temporal patterns of drought propagation in the basin • To quantify the contribution of LULCC and climate variability on hydrological regimes in the basin |
| Impact | This research study cuts across a number of disciplines whose expertise is available within the BRECcIA arrangement; as it encompasses socio-economic aspects, earth observation and hydrology. It is expected that this project will reveal the causal forcing of LULC change that tend to exacerbate extreme hydrological phenomena in the Chilwa Basin. By identifying the main socio-economic drivers of LULC change, this research is a prerequisite to a cost effective targeting of mitigation and intervention measures. We anticipate that the eventual beneficiary of this research will be the vulnerable rural communities, particularly women and children who are often the most impacted by extreme hydroclimatological shocks. This research will also directly benefit government institutions and their support partners who are working to address water and food challenges in the Chilwa Basin. The research will provide evidence based information to guide interventions |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Evaluating Drivers of Aridity in the Lake Chilwa Basin, Malawi |
| Organisation | Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | In this study, we will investigate the associated influence of major socio-economic variables of Land Use Land Change change on hydrological responses in Lake Chilwa Basin, Malawi. Lake Chilwa is a terminal or endorheic lake with its catchments located in relatively high rainfall areas of Malawi. However, in recent years the lake has experienced frequent episodes of almost complete dry-ups. Not much is documented on causes and the extent to which socio-economic drivers of LULCC influence such dry-ups. Chilwa basin is of great significance as it encompasses a Ramsar classified wetland that sustains livelihoods through fishing and rice cultivation, and most rivers/streams within the basin are a source of water for domestic and irrigation. Owing to their potential influence on water and food security, the role of LULC change forcing has to be evaluated against other drivers. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Specific objectives: • To analyse the contribution of major drivers/variables of LULC change in the Chilwa basin • To analyse the transitional LULC changes in major classes from 1978-2018 at approximately ten year interval • To analyse the spatio-temporal patterns of drought propagation in the basin • To quantify the contribution of LULCC and climate variability on hydrological regimes in the basin |
| Impact | This research study cuts across a number of disciplines whose expertise is available within the BRECcIA arrangement; as it encompasses socio-economic aspects, earth observation and hydrology. It is expected that this project will reveal the causal forcing of LULC change that tend to exacerbate extreme hydrological phenomena in the Chilwa Basin. By identifying the main socio-economic drivers of LULC change, this research is a prerequisite to a cost effective targeting of mitigation and intervention measures. We anticipate that the eventual beneficiary of this research will be the vulnerable rural communities, particularly women and children who are often the most impacted by extreme hydroclimatological shocks. This research will also directly benefit government institutions and their support partners who are working to address water and food challenges in the Chilwa Basin. The research will provide evidence based information to guide interventions |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Evaluating Drivers of Aridity in the Lake Chilwa Basin, Malawi |
| Organisation | Southern African Development Community |
| Department | Waternet |
| Country | Zimbabwe |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | In this study, we will investigate the associated influence of major socio-economic variables of Land Use Land Change change on hydrological responses in Lake Chilwa Basin, Malawi. Lake Chilwa is a terminal or endorheic lake with its catchments located in relatively high rainfall areas of Malawi. However, in recent years the lake has experienced frequent episodes of almost complete dry-ups. Not much is documented on causes and the extent to which socio-economic drivers of LULCC influence such dry-ups. Chilwa basin is of great significance as it encompasses a Ramsar classified wetland that sustains livelihoods through fishing and rice cultivation, and most rivers/streams within the basin are a source of water for domestic and irrigation. Owing to their potential influence on water and food security, the role of LULC change forcing has to be evaluated against other drivers. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Specific objectives: • To analyse the contribution of major drivers/variables of LULC change in the Chilwa basin • To analyse the transitional LULC changes in major classes from 1978-2018 at approximately ten year interval • To analyse the spatio-temporal patterns of drought propagation in the basin • To quantify the contribution of LULCC and climate variability on hydrological regimes in the basin |
| Impact | This research study cuts across a number of disciplines whose expertise is available within the BRECcIA arrangement; as it encompasses socio-economic aspects, earth observation and hydrology. It is expected that this project will reveal the causal forcing of LULC change that tend to exacerbate extreme hydrological phenomena in the Chilwa Basin. By identifying the main socio-economic drivers of LULC change, this research is a prerequisite to a cost effective targeting of mitigation and intervention measures. We anticipate that the eventual beneficiary of this research will be the vulnerable rural communities, particularly women and children who are often the most impacted by extreme hydroclimatological shocks. This research will also directly benefit government institutions and their support partners who are working to address water and food challenges in the Chilwa Basin. The research will provide evidence based information to guide interventions |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Evaluating Drivers of Aridity in the Lake Chilwa Basin, Malawi |
| Organisation | Technical University of Kenya |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | In this study, we will investigate the associated influence of major socio-economic variables of Land Use Land Change change on hydrological responses in Lake Chilwa Basin, Malawi. Lake Chilwa is a terminal or endorheic lake with its catchments located in relatively high rainfall areas of Malawi. However, in recent years the lake has experienced frequent episodes of almost complete dry-ups. Not much is documented on causes and the extent to which socio-economic drivers of LULCC influence such dry-ups. Chilwa basin is of great significance as it encompasses a Ramsar classified wetland that sustains livelihoods through fishing and rice cultivation, and most rivers/streams within the basin are a source of water for domestic and irrigation. Owing to their potential influence on water and food security, the role of LULC change forcing has to be evaluated against other drivers. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Specific objectives: • To analyse the contribution of major drivers/variables of LULC change in the Chilwa basin • To analyse the transitional LULC changes in major classes from 1978-2018 at approximately ten year interval • To analyse the spatio-temporal patterns of drought propagation in the basin • To quantify the contribution of LULCC and climate variability on hydrological regimes in the basin |
| Impact | This research study cuts across a number of disciplines whose expertise is available within the BRECcIA arrangement; as it encompasses socio-economic aspects, earth observation and hydrology. It is expected that this project will reveal the causal forcing of LULC change that tend to exacerbate extreme hydrological phenomena in the Chilwa Basin. By identifying the main socio-economic drivers of LULC change, this research is a prerequisite to a cost effective targeting of mitigation and intervention measures. We anticipate that the eventual beneficiary of this research will be the vulnerable rural communities, particularly women and children who are often the most impacted by extreme hydroclimatological shocks. This research will also directly benefit government institutions and their support partners who are working to address water and food challenges in the Chilwa Basin. The research will provide evidence based information to guide interventions |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Evaluating Drivers of Aridity in the Lake Chilwa Basin, Malawi |
| Organisation | University of Malawi |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | In this study, we will investigate the associated influence of major socio-economic variables of Land Use Land Change change on hydrological responses in Lake Chilwa Basin, Malawi. Lake Chilwa is a terminal or endorheic lake with its catchments located in relatively high rainfall areas of Malawi. However, in recent years the lake has experienced frequent episodes of almost complete dry-ups. Not much is documented on causes and the extent to which socio-economic drivers of LULCC influence such dry-ups. Chilwa basin is of great significance as it encompasses a Ramsar classified wetland that sustains livelihoods through fishing and rice cultivation, and most rivers/streams within the basin are a source of water for domestic and irrigation. Owing to their potential influence on water and food security, the role of LULC change forcing has to be evaluated against other drivers. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Specific objectives: • To analyse the contribution of major drivers/variables of LULC change in the Chilwa basin • To analyse the transitional LULC changes in major classes from 1978-2018 at approximately ten year interval • To analyse the spatio-temporal patterns of drought propagation in the basin • To quantify the contribution of LULCC and climate variability on hydrological regimes in the basin |
| Impact | This research study cuts across a number of disciplines whose expertise is available within the BRECcIA arrangement; as it encompasses socio-economic aspects, earth observation and hydrology. It is expected that this project will reveal the causal forcing of LULC change that tend to exacerbate extreme hydrological phenomena in the Chilwa Basin. By identifying the main socio-economic drivers of LULC change, this research is a prerequisite to a cost effective targeting of mitigation and intervention measures. We anticipate that the eventual beneficiary of this research will be the vulnerable rural communities, particularly women and children who are often the most impacted by extreme hydroclimatological shocks. This research will also directly benefit government institutions and their support partners who are working to address water and food challenges in the Chilwa Basin. The research will provide evidence based information to guide interventions |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Evaluation of land use change on water and food security in Lagha Bor Catchment, Wajir County, Kenya |
| Organisation | Kenyatta University |
| Department | Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Project designed and approved under the BRECcIA Small Research Projects call. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Kenya has a varied ecological environment, which is characterized by differences in agricultural potential and in patterns of food production. Wajir county has faced increasing food deficits, and high rural poverty levels, a fact attributed to high population growth, environmental degradation and limited sources of livelihoods. However, this problem is more prominent in arid and semiarid lands (ASALs) which constitute about 80% of the total land mass in Kenya where pastoralism is the main livelihood activity. This project seeks to understand the effects of land use change and climate variability on vegetation dynamics (vegetation, soil and water balance) in the Lagha Bor catchment area of Wajir County in Kenya. Furthermore, it will seek to understand the impacts of long term land use including water development and settlement; on sustainable livestock livelihooda. This will inform possible technological interventions for improved water and food security in the region. Research questions 1. What are the natural and human factors affecting water and food security in Lagha Bor catchment in Wajir County? 2. What are the effects of land use change and climate variability on: a. Vegetation dynamics in the catchment? b. Soil around villages and piospheres? c. Water balance and erosion dynamics in the study area? 3. What are the best policy interventions to enable improved water and food security in the study area and County? Methodology The methodology will involve the use of both primary and secondary data. The primary data will include remote sensing, climactic, topography and soils data. The methods used shall include an analysis of climate (rainfall amount and distribution, frequency of extreme events as appropriate and temperature changes), human and livestock population trends, land use land and management practices, access to water and vegetation and resource management interventions and their contribution to land degradation in the catchment in the last 35 years. More specifically the study will use: • Imagery data from five different Landsat missions, including the Thematic Mapper (TM) present on Landsats 4 and 5, and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) present on Landsats 6 and 7 as well as the most recent Landsat 8 • Soil sampling • Hydrological modelling. (SWAT MODFLOW model) (Arnold and Allen, 1998; Baker and Miller, 2013) |
| Impact | The interdisciplinary nature of the project is reflected in the combination of a hydrological study with a policy study. The outputs from the study on the effects of land use change and climate variability on water balance will directly feed into a policy research element of the project though the policy workshops that will be held at Wajir county. This will give us an opportunity to share these findings with policy makers at the county level in order to assist them in formulating sustainable policies around water management including regulation measures. In the simulation of water balance the out puts will be maps and trend analysis showing temporal and spatial variation of water components which includes groundwater recharge, surface runoff, soil moisture, evapotransipration and erosion. Other outputs will include stream flow hydrographs for simulation of surface runoff. Erosion and siltation data and maps is another output that will assist in development of land management rehabilitation mechanisms. The same will help in development plans for rehabilitation of surface waterpans and improve their useful life. Other Key outputs shall include maps and data on suitable site for spate irrigation with due consideration of topography, soils and hydrological flows. Spate irrigation is considered a key adaptation measure for arid and semi-arid areas. This could be use alongside grass-reseeding for improved performance. Furthermore, It is anticipated that two journal papers will emerge from this project. One focusing on the findings from the hydrological study and the other focusing on the policy element The proposed projected aims at ensuring better water and food security policies for Wajir County. Information obtained through the study could be used for adjusted planning and management of the watershed within Wajir County to meet the requirements for better water harvesting, controlled utilization of groundwater, identifying suitable sites for artificial aquifer recharge, improvement of livelihood through spate irrigation and land rehabilitation measures necessary for adapted rangeland management. Another anticipated impact is capacity building of the PhD student involved in the project and the PDRA in the research and management skills needed to successfully undertake this project. As the project seeks to involve key stakeholders in Wajir county as co-researchers, one impact will be the skills transfer to the local government and community on sustainable food and water security. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Evaluation of land use change on water and food security in Lagha Bor Catchment, Wajir County, Kenya |
| Organisation | Technical University of Kenya |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Project designed and approved under the BRECcIA Small Research Projects call. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Kenya has a varied ecological environment, which is characterized by differences in agricultural potential and in patterns of food production. Wajir county has faced increasing food deficits, and high rural poverty levels, a fact attributed to high population growth, environmental degradation and limited sources of livelihoods. However, this problem is more prominent in arid and semiarid lands (ASALs) which constitute about 80% of the total land mass in Kenya where pastoralism is the main livelihood activity. This project seeks to understand the effects of land use change and climate variability on vegetation dynamics (vegetation, soil and water balance) in the Lagha Bor catchment area of Wajir County in Kenya. Furthermore, it will seek to understand the impacts of long term land use including water development and settlement; on sustainable livestock livelihooda. This will inform possible technological interventions for improved water and food security in the region. Research questions 1. What are the natural and human factors affecting water and food security in Lagha Bor catchment in Wajir County? 2. What are the effects of land use change and climate variability on: a. Vegetation dynamics in the catchment? b. Soil around villages and piospheres? c. Water balance and erosion dynamics in the study area? 3. What are the best policy interventions to enable improved water and food security in the study area and County? Methodology The methodology will involve the use of both primary and secondary data. The primary data will include remote sensing, climactic, topography and soils data. The methods used shall include an analysis of climate (rainfall amount and distribution, frequency of extreme events as appropriate and temperature changes), human and livestock population trends, land use land and management practices, access to water and vegetation and resource management interventions and their contribution to land degradation in the catchment in the last 35 years. More specifically the study will use: • Imagery data from five different Landsat missions, including the Thematic Mapper (TM) present on Landsats 4 and 5, and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) present on Landsats 6 and 7 as well as the most recent Landsat 8 • Soil sampling • Hydrological modelling. (SWAT MODFLOW model) (Arnold and Allen, 1998; Baker and Miller, 2013) |
| Impact | The interdisciplinary nature of the project is reflected in the combination of a hydrological study with a policy study. The outputs from the study on the effects of land use change and climate variability on water balance will directly feed into a policy research element of the project though the policy workshops that will be held at Wajir county. This will give us an opportunity to share these findings with policy makers at the county level in order to assist them in formulating sustainable policies around water management including regulation measures. In the simulation of water balance the out puts will be maps and trend analysis showing temporal and spatial variation of water components which includes groundwater recharge, surface runoff, soil moisture, evapotransipration and erosion. Other outputs will include stream flow hydrographs for simulation of surface runoff. Erosion and siltation data and maps is another output that will assist in development of land management rehabilitation mechanisms. The same will help in development plans for rehabilitation of surface waterpans and improve their useful life. Other Key outputs shall include maps and data on suitable site for spate irrigation with due consideration of topography, soils and hydrological flows. Spate irrigation is considered a key adaptation measure for arid and semi-arid areas. This could be use alongside grass-reseeding for improved performance. Furthermore, It is anticipated that two journal papers will emerge from this project. One focusing on the findings from the hydrological study and the other focusing on the policy element The proposed projected aims at ensuring better water and food security policies for Wajir County. Information obtained through the study could be used for adjusted planning and management of the watershed within Wajir County to meet the requirements for better water harvesting, controlled utilization of groundwater, identifying suitable sites for artificial aquifer recharge, improvement of livelihood through spate irrigation and land rehabilitation measures necessary for adapted rangeland management. Another anticipated impact is capacity building of the PhD student involved in the project and the PDRA in the research and management skills needed to successfully undertake this project. As the project seeks to involve key stakeholders in Wajir county as co-researchers, one impact will be the skills transfer to the local government and community on sustainable food and water security. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Evaluation of land use change on water and food security in Lagha Bor Catchment, Wajir County, Kenya |
| Organisation | University of Southampton |
| Department | University of Southampton Clinical Trials Unit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Project designed and approved under the BRECcIA Small Research Projects call. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Kenya has a varied ecological environment, which is characterized by differences in agricultural potential and in patterns of food production. Wajir county has faced increasing food deficits, and high rural poverty levels, a fact attributed to high population growth, environmental degradation and limited sources of livelihoods. However, this problem is more prominent in arid and semiarid lands (ASALs) which constitute about 80% of the total land mass in Kenya where pastoralism is the main livelihood activity. This project seeks to understand the effects of land use change and climate variability on vegetation dynamics (vegetation, soil and water balance) in the Lagha Bor catchment area of Wajir County in Kenya. Furthermore, it will seek to understand the impacts of long term land use including water development and settlement; on sustainable livestock livelihooda. This will inform possible technological interventions for improved water and food security in the region. Research questions 1. What are the natural and human factors affecting water and food security in Lagha Bor catchment in Wajir County? 2. What are the effects of land use change and climate variability on: a. Vegetation dynamics in the catchment? b. Soil around villages and piospheres? c. Water balance and erosion dynamics in the study area? 3. What are the best policy interventions to enable improved water and food security in the study area and County? Methodology The methodology will involve the use of both primary and secondary data. The primary data will include remote sensing, climactic, topography and soils data. The methods used shall include an analysis of climate (rainfall amount and distribution, frequency of extreme events as appropriate and temperature changes), human and livestock population trends, land use land and management practices, access to water and vegetation and resource management interventions and their contribution to land degradation in the catchment in the last 35 years. More specifically the study will use: • Imagery data from five different Landsat missions, including the Thematic Mapper (TM) present on Landsats 4 and 5, and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) present on Landsats 6 and 7 as well as the most recent Landsat 8 • Soil sampling • Hydrological modelling. (SWAT MODFLOW model) (Arnold and Allen, 1998; Baker and Miller, 2013) |
| Impact | The interdisciplinary nature of the project is reflected in the combination of a hydrological study with a policy study. The outputs from the study on the effects of land use change and climate variability on water balance will directly feed into a policy research element of the project though the policy workshops that will be held at Wajir county. This will give us an opportunity to share these findings with policy makers at the county level in order to assist them in formulating sustainable policies around water management including regulation measures. In the simulation of water balance the out puts will be maps and trend analysis showing temporal and spatial variation of water components which includes groundwater recharge, surface runoff, soil moisture, evapotransipration and erosion. Other outputs will include stream flow hydrographs for simulation of surface runoff. Erosion and siltation data and maps is another output that will assist in development of land management rehabilitation mechanisms. The same will help in development plans for rehabilitation of surface waterpans and improve their useful life. Other Key outputs shall include maps and data on suitable site for spate irrigation with due consideration of topography, soils and hydrological flows. Spate irrigation is considered a key adaptation measure for arid and semi-arid areas. This could be use alongside grass-reseeding for improved performance. Furthermore, It is anticipated that two journal papers will emerge from this project. One focusing on the findings from the hydrological study and the other focusing on the policy element The proposed projected aims at ensuring better water and food security policies for Wajir County. Information obtained through the study could be used for adjusted planning and management of the watershed within Wajir County to meet the requirements for better water harvesting, controlled utilization of groundwater, identifying suitable sites for artificial aquifer recharge, improvement of livelihood through spate irrigation and land rehabilitation measures necessary for adapted rangeland management. Another anticipated impact is capacity building of the PhD student involved in the project and the PDRA in the research and management skills needed to successfully undertake this project. As the project seeks to involve key stakeholders in Wajir county as co-researchers, one impact will be the skills transfer to the local government and community on sustainable food and water security. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Evaluation of land use change on water and food security in Lagha Bor Catchment, Wajir County, Kenya |
| Organisation | Wajir County Government |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Project designed and approved under the BRECcIA Small Research Projects call. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Kenya has a varied ecological environment, which is characterized by differences in agricultural potential and in patterns of food production. Wajir county has faced increasing food deficits, and high rural poverty levels, a fact attributed to high population growth, environmental degradation and limited sources of livelihoods. However, this problem is more prominent in arid and semiarid lands (ASALs) which constitute about 80% of the total land mass in Kenya where pastoralism is the main livelihood activity. This project seeks to understand the effects of land use change and climate variability on vegetation dynamics (vegetation, soil and water balance) in the Lagha Bor catchment area of Wajir County in Kenya. Furthermore, it will seek to understand the impacts of long term land use including water development and settlement; on sustainable livestock livelihooda. This will inform possible technological interventions for improved water and food security in the region. Research questions 1. What are the natural and human factors affecting water and food security in Lagha Bor catchment in Wajir County? 2. What are the effects of land use change and climate variability on: a. Vegetation dynamics in the catchment? b. Soil around villages and piospheres? c. Water balance and erosion dynamics in the study area? 3. What are the best policy interventions to enable improved water and food security in the study area and County? Methodology The methodology will involve the use of both primary and secondary data. The primary data will include remote sensing, climactic, topography and soils data. The methods used shall include an analysis of climate (rainfall amount and distribution, frequency of extreme events as appropriate and temperature changes), human and livestock population trends, land use land and management practices, access to water and vegetation and resource management interventions and their contribution to land degradation in the catchment in the last 35 years. More specifically the study will use: • Imagery data from five different Landsat missions, including the Thematic Mapper (TM) present on Landsats 4 and 5, and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) present on Landsats 6 and 7 as well as the most recent Landsat 8 • Soil sampling • Hydrological modelling. (SWAT MODFLOW model) (Arnold and Allen, 1998; Baker and Miller, 2013) |
| Impact | The interdisciplinary nature of the project is reflected in the combination of a hydrological study with a policy study. The outputs from the study on the effects of land use change and climate variability on water balance will directly feed into a policy research element of the project though the policy workshops that will be held at Wajir county. This will give us an opportunity to share these findings with policy makers at the county level in order to assist them in formulating sustainable policies around water management including regulation measures. In the simulation of water balance the out puts will be maps and trend analysis showing temporal and spatial variation of water components which includes groundwater recharge, surface runoff, soil moisture, evapotransipration and erosion. Other outputs will include stream flow hydrographs for simulation of surface runoff. Erosion and siltation data and maps is another output that will assist in development of land management rehabilitation mechanisms. The same will help in development plans for rehabilitation of surface waterpans and improve their useful life. Other Key outputs shall include maps and data on suitable site for spate irrigation with due consideration of topography, soils and hydrological flows. Spate irrigation is considered a key adaptation measure for arid and semi-arid areas. This could be use alongside grass-reseeding for improved performance. Furthermore, It is anticipated that two journal papers will emerge from this project. One focusing on the findings from the hydrological study and the other focusing on the policy element The proposed projected aims at ensuring better water and food security policies for Wajir County. Information obtained through the study could be used for adjusted planning and management of the watershed within Wajir County to meet the requirements for better water harvesting, controlled utilization of groundwater, identifying suitable sites for artificial aquifer recharge, improvement of livelihood through spate irrigation and land rehabilitation measures necessary for adapted rangeland management. Another anticipated impact is capacity building of the PhD student involved in the project and the PDRA in the research and management skills needed to successfully undertake this project. As the project seeks to involve key stakeholders in Wajir county as co-researchers, one impact will be the skills transfer to the local government and community on sustainable food and water security. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Evidence to Support Policy Amendment of Water and Food Security in Drylands of Malawi |
| Organisation | Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Project designed and approved under the BRECcIA Small Research Projects call, lead by University of Southampton |
| Collaborator Contribution | Management of water and food security in the drylands of Malawi remains a challenge due to limited capacity to manage disasters, risks and uncertainties associated with climate change. Anecdotal information suggests that conflicting policies and the omission of specific information on food and water security in drylands is a root cause. This project will support the security of food and water in the drylands of Malawi through the provision of evidence-based information that can feed into policy amendments to ensure sustainable water and food security in these drylands. The aim of the research is to understand fundamental capacity gaps that contribute to low adaptive capacities and weak resilience among dryland communities. The study sites are Balaka, Ntcheu and Salima Districts. The research will include a review of legal and institutional frameworks, focus group discussions with local leaders, including Village Development Committees (VDC), Area Development Committee (ADC) and lead farmers, informant interviews with policy makers, biophysical assessments and hydrological mapping to generate water profiles and livelihood mapping to assess the conditions of livelihood supporting assets. |
| Impact | The project is integrating more than one discipline through the following: ? Review of existing laws and policies including institutional arrangements regarding drylands management will involve policy makers, legal experts, development experts and policy implementers in Malawi and collaborating countries; ? Assessment of adaptive capacities and identification of both historical and current best practices for managing water and food security within drylands will involve livelihoods experts, historians, development experts, policy implementers, food security experts, water resource managers, natural resource manager, environmentalists and agriculturalists; The output will be a research paper and a policy brief with recommendations for creating a more enabling legal and institutional framework for resilience building with regards to water and food security in the drylands |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Evidence to Support Policy Amendment of Water and Food Security in Drylands of Malawi |
| Organisation | Forestry Research Institute of Malawi |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Project designed and approved under the BRECcIA Small Research Projects call, lead by University of Southampton |
| Collaborator Contribution | Management of water and food security in the drylands of Malawi remains a challenge due to limited capacity to manage disasters, risks and uncertainties associated with climate change. Anecdotal information suggests that conflicting policies and the omission of specific information on food and water security in drylands is a root cause. This project will support the security of food and water in the drylands of Malawi through the provision of evidence-based information that can feed into policy amendments to ensure sustainable water and food security in these drylands. The aim of the research is to understand fundamental capacity gaps that contribute to low adaptive capacities and weak resilience among dryland communities. The study sites are Balaka, Ntcheu and Salima Districts. The research will include a review of legal and institutional frameworks, focus group discussions with local leaders, including Village Development Committees (VDC), Area Development Committee (ADC) and lead farmers, informant interviews with policy makers, biophysical assessments and hydrological mapping to generate water profiles and livelihood mapping to assess the conditions of livelihood supporting assets. |
| Impact | The project is integrating more than one discipline through the following: ? Review of existing laws and policies including institutional arrangements regarding drylands management will involve policy makers, legal experts, development experts and policy implementers in Malawi and collaborating countries; ? Assessment of adaptive capacities and identification of both historical and current best practices for managing water and food security within drylands will involve livelihoods experts, historians, development experts, policy implementers, food security experts, water resource managers, natural resource manager, environmentalists and agriculturalists; The output will be a research paper and a policy brief with recommendations for creating a more enabling legal and institutional framework for resilience building with regards to water and food security in the drylands |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Evidence to Support Policy Amendment of Water and Food Security in Drylands of Malawi |
| Organisation | Leadership for Environment and Development Southern and Eastern Africa |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Project designed and approved under the BRECcIA Small Research Projects call, lead by University of Southampton |
| Collaborator Contribution | Management of water and food security in the drylands of Malawi remains a challenge due to limited capacity to manage disasters, risks and uncertainties associated with climate change. Anecdotal information suggests that conflicting policies and the omission of specific information on food and water security in drylands is a root cause. This project will support the security of food and water in the drylands of Malawi through the provision of evidence-based information that can feed into policy amendments to ensure sustainable water and food security in these drylands. The aim of the research is to understand fundamental capacity gaps that contribute to low adaptive capacities and weak resilience among dryland communities. The study sites are Balaka, Ntcheu and Salima Districts. The research will include a review of legal and institutional frameworks, focus group discussions with local leaders, including Village Development Committees (VDC), Area Development Committee (ADC) and lead farmers, informant interviews with policy makers, biophysical assessments and hydrological mapping to generate water profiles and livelihood mapping to assess the conditions of livelihood supporting assets. |
| Impact | The project is integrating more than one discipline through the following: ? Review of existing laws and policies including institutional arrangements regarding drylands management will involve policy makers, legal experts, development experts and policy implementers in Malawi and collaborating countries; ? Assessment of adaptive capacities and identification of both historical and current best practices for managing water and food security within drylands will involve livelihoods experts, historians, development experts, policy implementers, food security experts, water resource managers, natural resource manager, environmentalists and agriculturalists; The output will be a research paper and a policy brief with recommendations for creating a more enabling legal and institutional framework for resilience building with regards to water and food security in the drylands |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Evidence to Support Policy Amendment of Water and Food Security in Drylands of Malawi |
| Organisation | University of Malawi |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Project designed and approved under the BRECcIA Small Research Projects call, lead by University of Southampton |
| Collaborator Contribution | Management of water and food security in the drylands of Malawi remains a challenge due to limited capacity to manage disasters, risks and uncertainties associated with climate change. Anecdotal information suggests that conflicting policies and the omission of specific information on food and water security in drylands is a root cause. This project will support the security of food and water in the drylands of Malawi through the provision of evidence-based information that can feed into policy amendments to ensure sustainable water and food security in these drylands. The aim of the research is to understand fundamental capacity gaps that contribute to low adaptive capacities and weak resilience among dryland communities. The study sites are Balaka, Ntcheu and Salima Districts. The research will include a review of legal and institutional frameworks, focus group discussions with local leaders, including Village Development Committees (VDC), Area Development Committee (ADC) and lead farmers, informant interviews with policy makers, biophysical assessments and hydrological mapping to generate water profiles and livelihood mapping to assess the conditions of livelihood supporting assets. |
| Impact | The project is integrating more than one discipline through the following: ? Review of existing laws and policies including institutional arrangements regarding drylands management will involve policy makers, legal experts, development experts and policy implementers in Malawi and collaborating countries; ? Assessment of adaptive capacities and identification of both historical and current best practices for managing water and food security within drylands will involve livelihoods experts, historians, development experts, policy implementers, food security experts, water resource managers, natural resource manager, environmentalists and agriculturalists; The output will be a research paper and a policy brief with recommendations for creating a more enabling legal and institutional framework for resilience building with regards to water and food security in the drylands |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Hyper-resolution land surface modeling for food security and hydrological forecasting: Case of Sirba transboundary basin |
| Organisation | AGRHYMET Regional Centre (ARC) |
| Country | Global |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | In this study, we aim to develop a hyper-resolution Land Surface Model on the Sirba transboundary basin. The model will be used to address food and water security issues by forecasting hydroclimatic extreme events, including droughts and floods and by producing high-resolution information for decision-making in agriculture. It will be used by policy makers and decision makers to improve local scale resilience. The first beneficiaries of these forecasts will be the populations living in the Sirba Basin. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The overarching research questions are: • What support could be given to extension services in agriculture, hydrology and meteorology to improve the communication, dissemination and support of end-users? • How could machine learning, big data and high-performance computing help to better set up Land Surface Model at farm field scale? • At what spatial resolution could we better set up a hydrological model for forecasting? • What methodology to adopt to produce a small-scale study on a larger scale? The specific objectives are: • To identify end-user and extension services of agriculture, meteorology and hydrology needs in terms of agro-hydro-climatic information and communication channels; • To set up the HydroBlocks Land Surface Model and the RAPID routing model in the Sirba River Basin; • To develop a hydrological forecasts system at reasonable resolution in the Sirba Basin; • To propose a methodology for upscaling this study at macro-scale. |
| Impact | The expected impact of this project is support for decision-making in agriculture, assessment of water availability and variability, and contribution to flood risk prediction, through the provision of high resolution information. Farmers living in the Sirba Basin will be the direct beneficiaries of the project results. The LSM developed could be used to conduct studies using hydrological modeling (seasonal forecasts, assessment of the future impact of climate change on water resources, design of hydraulic structures, planning of developments, etc.). This will improve the hydrological forecasting and early warning system already available in West Africa. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Hyper-resolution land surface modeling for food security and hydrological forecasting: Case of Sirba transboundary basin |
| Organisation | Southern African Development Community |
| Department | Waternet |
| Country | Zimbabwe |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | In this study, we aim to develop a hyper-resolution Land Surface Model on the Sirba transboundary basin. The model will be used to address food and water security issues by forecasting hydroclimatic extreme events, including droughts and floods and by producing high-resolution information for decision-making in agriculture. It will be used by policy makers and decision makers to improve local scale resilience. The first beneficiaries of these forecasts will be the populations living in the Sirba Basin. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The overarching research questions are: • What support could be given to extension services in agriculture, hydrology and meteorology to improve the communication, dissemination and support of end-users? • How could machine learning, big data and high-performance computing help to better set up Land Surface Model at farm field scale? • At what spatial resolution could we better set up a hydrological model for forecasting? • What methodology to adopt to produce a small-scale study on a larger scale? The specific objectives are: • To identify end-user and extension services of agriculture, meteorology and hydrology needs in terms of agro-hydro-climatic information and communication channels; • To set up the HydroBlocks Land Surface Model and the RAPID routing model in the Sirba River Basin; • To develop a hydrological forecasts system at reasonable resolution in the Sirba Basin; • To propose a methodology for upscaling this study at macro-scale. |
| Impact | The expected impact of this project is support for decision-making in agriculture, assessment of water availability and variability, and contribution to flood risk prediction, through the provision of high resolution information. Farmers living in the Sirba Basin will be the direct beneficiaries of the project results. The LSM developed could be used to conduct studies using hydrological modeling (seasonal forecasts, assessment of the future impact of climate change on water resources, design of hydraulic structures, planning of developments, etc.). This will improve the hydrological forecasting and early warning system already available in West Africa. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Hyper-resolution land surface modeling for food security and hydrological forecasting: Case of Sirba transboundary basin |
| Organisation | Technical University of Kenya |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | In this study, we aim to develop a hyper-resolution Land Surface Model on the Sirba transboundary basin. The model will be used to address food and water security issues by forecasting hydroclimatic extreme events, including droughts and floods and by producing high-resolution information for decision-making in agriculture. It will be used by policy makers and decision makers to improve local scale resilience. The first beneficiaries of these forecasts will be the populations living in the Sirba Basin. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The overarching research questions are: • What support could be given to extension services in agriculture, hydrology and meteorology to improve the communication, dissemination and support of end-users? • How could machine learning, big data and high-performance computing help to better set up Land Surface Model at farm field scale? • At what spatial resolution could we better set up a hydrological model for forecasting? • What methodology to adopt to produce a small-scale study on a larger scale? The specific objectives are: • To identify end-user and extension services of agriculture, meteorology and hydrology needs in terms of agro-hydro-climatic information and communication channels; • To set up the HydroBlocks Land Surface Model and the RAPID routing model in the Sirba River Basin; • To develop a hydrological forecasts system at reasonable resolution in the Sirba Basin; • To propose a methodology for upscaling this study at macro-scale. |
| Impact | The expected impact of this project is support for decision-making in agriculture, assessment of water availability and variability, and contribution to flood risk prediction, through the provision of high resolution information. Farmers living in the Sirba Basin will be the direct beneficiaries of the project results. The LSM developed could be used to conduct studies using hydrological modeling (seasonal forecasts, assessment of the future impact of climate change on water resources, design of hydraulic structures, planning of developments, etc.). This will improve the hydrological forecasting and early warning system already available in West Africa. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Hyper-resolution land surface modeling for food security and hydrological forecasting: Case of Sirba transboundary basin |
| Organisation | University of Ghana |
| Country | Ghana |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | In this study, we aim to develop a hyper-resolution Land Surface Model on the Sirba transboundary basin. The model will be used to address food and water security issues by forecasting hydroclimatic extreme events, including droughts and floods and by producing high-resolution information for decision-making in agriculture. It will be used by policy makers and decision makers to improve local scale resilience. The first beneficiaries of these forecasts will be the populations living in the Sirba Basin. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The overarching research questions are: • What support could be given to extension services in agriculture, hydrology and meteorology to improve the communication, dissemination and support of end-users? • How could machine learning, big data and high-performance computing help to better set up Land Surface Model at farm field scale? • At what spatial resolution could we better set up a hydrological model for forecasting? • What methodology to adopt to produce a small-scale study on a larger scale? The specific objectives are: • To identify end-user and extension services of agriculture, meteorology and hydrology needs in terms of agro-hydro-climatic information and communication channels; • To set up the HydroBlocks Land Surface Model and the RAPID routing model in the Sirba River Basin; • To develop a hydrological forecasts system at reasonable resolution in the Sirba Basin; • To propose a methodology for upscaling this study at macro-scale. |
| Impact | The expected impact of this project is support for decision-making in agriculture, assessment of water availability and variability, and contribution to flood risk prediction, through the provision of high resolution information. Farmers living in the Sirba Basin will be the direct beneficiaries of the project results. The LSM developed could be used to conduct studies using hydrological modeling (seasonal forecasts, assessment of the future impact of climate change on water resources, design of hydraulic structures, planning of developments, etc.). This will improve the hydrological forecasting and early warning system already available in West Africa. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Hyper-resolution land surface modeling for food security and hydrological forecasting: Case of Sirba transboundary basin |
| Organisation | University of Malawi |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | In this study, we aim to develop a hyper-resolution Land Surface Model on the Sirba transboundary basin. The model will be used to address food and water security issues by forecasting hydroclimatic extreme events, including droughts and floods and by producing high-resolution information for decision-making in agriculture. It will be used by policy makers and decision makers to improve local scale resilience. The first beneficiaries of these forecasts will be the populations living in the Sirba Basin. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The overarching research questions are: • What support could be given to extension services in agriculture, hydrology and meteorology to improve the communication, dissemination and support of end-users? • How could machine learning, big data and high-performance computing help to better set up Land Surface Model at farm field scale? • At what spatial resolution could we better set up a hydrological model for forecasting? • What methodology to adopt to produce a small-scale study on a larger scale? The specific objectives are: • To identify end-user and extension services of agriculture, meteorology and hydrology needs in terms of agro-hydro-climatic information and communication channels; • To set up the HydroBlocks Land Surface Model and the RAPID routing model in the Sirba River Basin; • To develop a hydrological forecasts system at reasonable resolution in the Sirba Basin; • To propose a methodology for upscaling this study at macro-scale. |
| Impact | The expected impact of this project is support for decision-making in agriculture, assessment of water availability and variability, and contribution to flood risk prediction, through the provision of high resolution information. Farmers living in the Sirba Basin will be the direct beneficiaries of the project results. The LSM developed could be used to conduct studies using hydrological modeling (seasonal forecasts, assessment of the future impact of climate change on water resources, design of hydraulic structures, planning of developments, etc.). This will improve the hydrological forecasting and early warning system already available in West Africa. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Land use and land cover changes and runoff assessment at Lake Chilwa sub-basin level: a SWAT + application in drylands of Malawi |
| Organisation | Southern African Development Community |
| Department | Waternet |
| Country | Zimbabwe |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Objectives of the study are; I) To assess water availability and land use dynamics of the Chilwa catchment II) To assess over time land use practices that affect water availability with a focus on water quality aspects (sediments load and chemical parameters ) in terms of quantity and quality using SWAT + model. III) To evaluate over time, the effects of intensive fertilizer application on catchment water quality and quantity through nitrate tracking using remote sensing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The study will be conducted in Lake Chilwa basin of the drylands of Malawi in collaboration with other small research projects (srps) conducted in the area to ensure data sharing among researchers and increase emphasis on outputs obtained. Overarching research questions 1) How much runoff has been generated in the catchment from 1998 to 2018? 2) What significant changes in LULCC have occurred in the basin from 1998 to 2018? 3) How have the changes in LULC influenced water quality? |
| Impact | Project outputs are anticipated to include collected hydro meteorological data (Precipitation, Minimum and maximum temperature, Relative Humidity, Wind Speed, Sunshine hours/solar Radiation) streamflow, soil map, topographic map, LULC, and a set-calibrated and validated SWAT model for drylands studies. Water quality data sets will also be available from the project on set data acquisition procedure from BRECcIA. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Land use and land cover changes and runoff assessment at Lake Chilwa sub-basin level: a SWAT + application in drylands of Malawi |
| Organisation | University of Malawi |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Objectives of the study are; I) To assess water availability and land use dynamics of the Chilwa catchment II) To assess over time land use practices that affect water availability with a focus on water quality aspects (sediments load and chemical parameters ) in terms of quantity and quality using SWAT + model. III) To evaluate over time, the effects of intensive fertilizer application on catchment water quality and quantity through nitrate tracking using remote sensing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The study will be conducted in Lake Chilwa basin of the drylands of Malawi in collaboration with other small research projects (srps) conducted in the area to ensure data sharing among researchers and increase emphasis on outputs obtained. Overarching research questions 1) How much runoff has been generated in the catchment from 1998 to 2018? 2) What significant changes in LULCC have occurred in the basin from 1998 to 2018? 3) How have the changes in LULC influenced water quality? |
| Impact | Project outputs are anticipated to include collected hydro meteorological data (Precipitation, Minimum and maximum temperature, Relative Humidity, Wind Speed, Sunshine hours/solar Radiation) streamflow, soil map, topographic map, LULC, and a set-calibrated and validated SWAT model for drylands studies. Water quality data sets will also be available from the project on set data acquisition procedure from BRECcIA. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Monitoring agricultural land use change and its linkage to food security in Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Organisation | Kenyatta University |
| Department | Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | University of Southampton Early Career Researchers lead on the project. To ensure food security, we must first understand where the food grows, how the agricultural land area changes and why these changes happen. This information and understanding is scarce in sub-Saharan Africa. This project therefore aims to monitor spatial and temporal changes in agricultural land area in relation to land use and land cover change. By using high spatial resolution satellite images we will develop an algorithm for classifying agricultural area and land use types. We will monitor changes in agricultural areas at country scale in Malawi, Ghana, and Kenya with a spatial resolution of 30 m. This research will generate agricultural extent maps, which are the first step in evaluating food production and to improving agricultural productivity. This research will also detect agricultural areas undergoing rapid changes and potentially explore the factors responsible for these changes, which possibly will be delivered to policy makers and provide guidance on areas where attention is needed. The research output will also help to understand how the specific policies affect changes in agricultural area and eventually food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Partners will collaborate on project activities: To achieve the research aim, the following research activities will be followed: 1. Assess existing satellite data availability and data quality The satellite data availability and quality will be assessed in drylands of three countries. The availability of satellite data further helps to identify the area where high-resolution satellite data can be put into use. 2. Apply for high resolution satellite data The high-resolution satellite data selection and application will be coordinated with site selection and interdisciplinary work, for example on how agricultural area and production related to land tenure conflict and migration pattern of pastoralist. 3. Train classification algorithm and accuracy assessment The accuracies of different classification algorithms will be compared and approaches with the highest accuracy will be applied. 4. Coordination on drone data collection and decision on field data campaign If the high-resolution data is not available as in step 3, the drone image collection and field data collection approaches will be discussed and implemented. This field data collection will be coordinated with LEAD research group. However, funding for potential field data collection will not be requested at this stage. 5. Detect hotspot of agricultural expansion/shrinkage and land use changes 6. Monitoring crop intensity and fallow area 7. Analysis of changes in agricultural area and attendant production 8. Result interpretation |
| Impact | Multi-disciplinary framework is needed to understand why and how agricultural expansion/shrinkage happened, and what are potential impacts on this? This project will potentially collaborate with following interdisciplinary research questions: • What are main drivers for agricultural expansion/shrinkage in SSA, especially how the national policy (fertilizer, seed variety, etc) and agricultural program contribute to the agricultural expansion/shrinkage and what are differences on this in three countries? • How community resilience differs under agricultural expansion and shrinkage circumstances? Specially whether community resilience is lower in agricultural expansion area and will be weaker in the long-term; whether community resilience has been built in agricultural shrinkage area where potential agricultural intensification might have happened? Expected outputs include new datasets, publications and a network development. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Monitoring agricultural land use change and its linkage to food security in Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Organisation | Leadership for Environment and Development Southern and Eastern Africa |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | University of Southampton Early Career Researchers lead on the project. To ensure food security, we must first understand where the food grows, how the agricultural land area changes and why these changes happen. This information and understanding is scarce in sub-Saharan Africa. This project therefore aims to monitor spatial and temporal changes in agricultural land area in relation to land use and land cover change. By using high spatial resolution satellite images we will develop an algorithm for classifying agricultural area and land use types. We will monitor changes in agricultural areas at country scale in Malawi, Ghana, and Kenya with a spatial resolution of 30 m. This research will generate agricultural extent maps, which are the first step in evaluating food production and to improving agricultural productivity. This research will also detect agricultural areas undergoing rapid changes and potentially explore the factors responsible for these changes, which possibly will be delivered to policy makers and provide guidance on areas where attention is needed. The research output will also help to understand how the specific policies affect changes in agricultural area and eventually food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Partners will collaborate on project activities: To achieve the research aim, the following research activities will be followed: 1. Assess existing satellite data availability and data quality The satellite data availability and quality will be assessed in drylands of three countries. The availability of satellite data further helps to identify the area where high-resolution satellite data can be put into use. 2. Apply for high resolution satellite data The high-resolution satellite data selection and application will be coordinated with site selection and interdisciplinary work, for example on how agricultural area and production related to land tenure conflict and migration pattern of pastoralist. 3. Train classification algorithm and accuracy assessment The accuracies of different classification algorithms will be compared and approaches with the highest accuracy will be applied. 4. Coordination on drone data collection and decision on field data campaign If the high-resolution data is not available as in step 3, the drone image collection and field data collection approaches will be discussed and implemented. This field data collection will be coordinated with LEAD research group. However, funding for potential field data collection will not be requested at this stage. 5. Detect hotspot of agricultural expansion/shrinkage and land use changes 6. Monitoring crop intensity and fallow area 7. Analysis of changes in agricultural area and attendant production 8. Result interpretation |
| Impact | Multi-disciplinary framework is needed to understand why and how agricultural expansion/shrinkage happened, and what are potential impacts on this? This project will potentially collaborate with following interdisciplinary research questions: • What are main drivers for agricultural expansion/shrinkage in SSA, especially how the national policy (fertilizer, seed variety, etc) and agricultural program contribute to the agricultural expansion/shrinkage and what are differences on this in three countries? • How community resilience differs under agricultural expansion and shrinkage circumstances? Specially whether community resilience is lower in agricultural expansion area and will be weaker in the long-term; whether community resilience has been built in agricultural shrinkage area where potential agricultural intensification might have happened? Expected outputs include new datasets, publications and a network development. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Monitoring agricultural land use change and its linkage to food security in Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Organisation | University of Ghana |
| Country | Ghana |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | University of Southampton Early Career Researchers lead on the project. To ensure food security, we must first understand where the food grows, how the agricultural land area changes and why these changes happen. This information and understanding is scarce in sub-Saharan Africa. This project therefore aims to monitor spatial and temporal changes in agricultural land area in relation to land use and land cover change. By using high spatial resolution satellite images we will develop an algorithm for classifying agricultural area and land use types. We will monitor changes in agricultural areas at country scale in Malawi, Ghana, and Kenya with a spatial resolution of 30 m. This research will generate agricultural extent maps, which are the first step in evaluating food production and to improving agricultural productivity. This research will also detect agricultural areas undergoing rapid changes and potentially explore the factors responsible for these changes, which possibly will be delivered to policy makers and provide guidance on areas where attention is needed. The research output will also help to understand how the specific policies affect changes in agricultural area and eventually food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Partners will collaborate on project activities: To achieve the research aim, the following research activities will be followed: 1. Assess existing satellite data availability and data quality The satellite data availability and quality will be assessed in drylands of three countries. The availability of satellite data further helps to identify the area where high-resolution satellite data can be put into use. 2. Apply for high resolution satellite data The high-resolution satellite data selection and application will be coordinated with site selection and interdisciplinary work, for example on how agricultural area and production related to land tenure conflict and migration pattern of pastoralist. 3. Train classification algorithm and accuracy assessment The accuracies of different classification algorithms will be compared and approaches with the highest accuracy will be applied. 4. Coordination on drone data collection and decision on field data campaign If the high-resolution data is not available as in step 3, the drone image collection and field data collection approaches will be discussed and implemented. This field data collection will be coordinated with LEAD research group. However, funding for potential field data collection will not be requested at this stage. 5. Detect hotspot of agricultural expansion/shrinkage and land use changes 6. Monitoring crop intensity and fallow area 7. Analysis of changes in agricultural area and attendant production 8. Result interpretation |
| Impact | Multi-disciplinary framework is needed to understand why and how agricultural expansion/shrinkage happened, and what are potential impacts on this? This project will potentially collaborate with following interdisciplinary research questions: • What are main drivers for agricultural expansion/shrinkage in SSA, especially how the national policy (fertilizer, seed variety, etc) and agricultural program contribute to the agricultural expansion/shrinkage and what are differences on this in three countries? • How community resilience differs under agricultural expansion and shrinkage circumstances? Specially whether community resilience is lower in agricultural expansion area and will be weaker in the long-term; whether community resilience has been built in agricultural shrinkage area where potential agricultural intensification might have happened? Expected outputs include new datasets, publications and a network development. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Monitoring agricultural land use change and its linkage to food security in Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Organisation | University of Southampton |
| Department | University of Southampton Clinical Trials Unit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | University of Southampton Early Career Researchers lead on the project. To ensure food security, we must first understand where the food grows, how the agricultural land area changes and why these changes happen. This information and understanding is scarce in sub-Saharan Africa. This project therefore aims to monitor spatial and temporal changes in agricultural land area in relation to land use and land cover change. By using high spatial resolution satellite images we will develop an algorithm for classifying agricultural area and land use types. We will monitor changes in agricultural areas at country scale in Malawi, Ghana, and Kenya with a spatial resolution of 30 m. This research will generate agricultural extent maps, which are the first step in evaluating food production and to improving agricultural productivity. This research will also detect agricultural areas undergoing rapid changes and potentially explore the factors responsible for these changes, which possibly will be delivered to policy makers and provide guidance on areas where attention is needed. The research output will also help to understand how the specific policies affect changes in agricultural area and eventually food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Partners will collaborate on project activities: To achieve the research aim, the following research activities will be followed: 1. Assess existing satellite data availability and data quality The satellite data availability and quality will be assessed in drylands of three countries. The availability of satellite data further helps to identify the area where high-resolution satellite data can be put into use. 2. Apply for high resolution satellite data The high-resolution satellite data selection and application will be coordinated with site selection and interdisciplinary work, for example on how agricultural area and production related to land tenure conflict and migration pattern of pastoralist. 3. Train classification algorithm and accuracy assessment The accuracies of different classification algorithms will be compared and approaches with the highest accuracy will be applied. 4. Coordination on drone data collection and decision on field data campaign If the high-resolution data is not available as in step 3, the drone image collection and field data collection approaches will be discussed and implemented. This field data collection will be coordinated with LEAD research group. However, funding for potential field data collection will not be requested at this stage. 5. Detect hotspot of agricultural expansion/shrinkage and land use changes 6. Monitoring crop intensity and fallow area 7. Analysis of changes in agricultural area and attendant production 8. Result interpretation |
| Impact | Multi-disciplinary framework is needed to understand why and how agricultural expansion/shrinkage happened, and what are potential impacts on this? This project will potentially collaborate with following interdisciplinary research questions: • What are main drivers for agricultural expansion/shrinkage in SSA, especially how the national policy (fertilizer, seed variety, etc) and agricultural program contribute to the agricultural expansion/shrinkage and what are differences on this in three countries? • How community resilience differs under agricultural expansion and shrinkage circumstances? Specially whether community resilience is lower in agricultural expansion area and will be weaker in the long-term; whether community resilience has been built in agricultural shrinkage area where potential agricultural intensification might have happened? Expected outputs include new datasets, publications and a network development. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Multi-model approach to assess water resources availability and variability across Kenya, Ghana and Malawi. |
| Organisation | AGRHYMET Regional Centre (ARC) |
| Country | Global |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | The objectives of this project are to: i) develop a set of hydrological modelling tools to assess water availability and variability in the drylands of Kenya, Ghana, and Malawi, ii) build new research skills and collaborations among the BRECcIA partners, iii) develop impact oriented research. As such it contributes to the two main outcomes of BRECcIA (i.e., capacity building and high-quality research). |
| Collaborator Contribution | The success of the project is based on the collaboration between researchers with expertise in weather and climate dynamics, hydrological processes, mathematical modelling, and numerical simulation. The project indeed aims at knowledge sharing between researchers with different expertise. The skills developed and the outputs produced during this project will set the basis for further collaborative research within BRECcIA engaging other researchers. In particular, we foresee collaborations with the Resilience and Intervention research theme to link water availability assessment, which is the focus of this project, with water and food security for the local communities. |
| Impact | An output of the project is the collection of datasets and models suitable for the analysis of the water and food security nexus in drylands. These will include hydrometeorological dataset, calibrated and validated hydrological models, and simulated streamflows, soil moisture, and groundwater datasets. They will be available to the other BRECcIA research themes and more widely to the international research community. We define proper data sharing protocols and platforms to ensure an easy and long-lasting data accessibility. We aim at collaborative papers to be published on high impact scientific journals about: i) the identification of appropriate scales for water and food security in data scarce regions including the development of an appropriate framework for this, ii) the assessment of water resources availability across the drylands of Kenya, Ghana, and Malawi. Another output of the project is the development of teaching material, which will be used during the workshop on hydrological modelling in drylands. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Multi-model approach to assess water resources availability and variability across Kenya, Ghana and Malawi. |
| Organisation | Leadership for Environment and Development Southern and Eastern Africa |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | The objectives of this project are to: i) develop a set of hydrological modelling tools to assess water availability and variability in the drylands of Kenya, Ghana, and Malawi, ii) build new research skills and collaborations among the BRECcIA partners, iii) develop impact oriented research. As such it contributes to the two main outcomes of BRECcIA (i.e., capacity building and high-quality research). |
| Collaborator Contribution | The success of the project is based on the collaboration between researchers with expertise in weather and climate dynamics, hydrological processes, mathematical modelling, and numerical simulation. The project indeed aims at knowledge sharing between researchers with different expertise. The skills developed and the outputs produced during this project will set the basis for further collaborative research within BRECcIA engaging other researchers. In particular, we foresee collaborations with the Resilience and Intervention research theme to link water availability assessment, which is the focus of this project, with water and food security for the local communities. |
| Impact | An output of the project is the collection of datasets and models suitable for the analysis of the water and food security nexus in drylands. These will include hydrometeorological dataset, calibrated and validated hydrological models, and simulated streamflows, soil moisture, and groundwater datasets. They will be available to the other BRECcIA research themes and more widely to the international research community. We define proper data sharing protocols and platforms to ensure an easy and long-lasting data accessibility. We aim at collaborative papers to be published on high impact scientific journals about: i) the identification of appropriate scales for water and food security in data scarce regions including the development of an appropriate framework for this, ii) the assessment of water resources availability across the drylands of Kenya, Ghana, and Malawi. Another output of the project is the development of teaching material, which will be used during the workshop on hydrological modelling in drylands. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Multi-model approach to assess water resources availability and variability across Kenya, Ghana and Malawi. |
| Organisation | Southern African Development Community |
| Department | Waternet |
| Country | Zimbabwe |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The objectives of this project are to: i) develop a set of hydrological modelling tools to assess water availability and variability in the drylands of Kenya, Ghana, and Malawi, ii) build new research skills and collaborations among the BRECcIA partners, iii) develop impact oriented research. As such it contributes to the two main outcomes of BRECcIA (i.e., capacity building and high-quality research). |
| Collaborator Contribution | The success of the project is based on the collaboration between researchers with expertise in weather and climate dynamics, hydrological processes, mathematical modelling, and numerical simulation. The project indeed aims at knowledge sharing between researchers with different expertise. The skills developed and the outputs produced during this project will set the basis for further collaborative research within BRECcIA engaging other researchers. In particular, we foresee collaborations with the Resilience and Intervention research theme to link water availability assessment, which is the focus of this project, with water and food security for the local communities. |
| Impact | An output of the project is the collection of datasets and models suitable for the analysis of the water and food security nexus in drylands. These will include hydrometeorological dataset, calibrated and validated hydrological models, and simulated streamflows, soil moisture, and groundwater datasets. They will be available to the other BRECcIA research themes and more widely to the international research community. We define proper data sharing protocols and platforms to ensure an easy and long-lasting data accessibility. We aim at collaborative papers to be published on high impact scientific journals about: i) the identification of appropriate scales for water and food security in data scarce regions including the development of an appropriate framework for this, ii) the assessment of water resources availability across the drylands of Kenya, Ghana, and Malawi. Another output of the project is the development of teaching material, which will be used during the workshop on hydrological modelling in drylands. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Multi-model approach to assess water resources availability and variability across Kenya, Ghana and Malawi. |
| Organisation | Technical University of Kenya |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The objectives of this project are to: i) develop a set of hydrological modelling tools to assess water availability and variability in the drylands of Kenya, Ghana, and Malawi, ii) build new research skills and collaborations among the BRECcIA partners, iii) develop impact oriented research. As such it contributes to the two main outcomes of BRECcIA (i.e., capacity building and high-quality research). |
| Collaborator Contribution | The success of the project is based on the collaboration between researchers with expertise in weather and climate dynamics, hydrological processes, mathematical modelling, and numerical simulation. The project indeed aims at knowledge sharing between researchers with different expertise. The skills developed and the outputs produced during this project will set the basis for further collaborative research within BRECcIA engaging other researchers. In particular, we foresee collaborations with the Resilience and Intervention research theme to link water availability assessment, which is the focus of this project, with water and food security for the local communities. |
| Impact | An output of the project is the collection of datasets and models suitable for the analysis of the water and food security nexus in drylands. These will include hydrometeorological dataset, calibrated and validated hydrological models, and simulated streamflows, soil moisture, and groundwater datasets. They will be available to the other BRECcIA research themes and more widely to the international research community. We define proper data sharing protocols and platforms to ensure an easy and long-lasting data accessibility. We aim at collaborative papers to be published on high impact scientific journals about: i) the identification of appropriate scales for water and food security in data scarce regions including the development of an appropriate framework for this, ii) the assessment of water resources availability across the drylands of Kenya, Ghana, and Malawi. Another output of the project is the development of teaching material, which will be used during the workshop on hydrological modelling in drylands. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Multi-model approach to assess water resources availability and variability across Kenya, Ghana and Malawi. |
| Organisation | University of Ghana |
| Country | Ghana |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The objectives of this project are to: i) develop a set of hydrological modelling tools to assess water availability and variability in the drylands of Kenya, Ghana, and Malawi, ii) build new research skills and collaborations among the BRECcIA partners, iii) develop impact oriented research. As such it contributes to the two main outcomes of BRECcIA (i.e., capacity building and high-quality research). |
| Collaborator Contribution | The success of the project is based on the collaboration between researchers with expertise in weather and climate dynamics, hydrological processes, mathematical modelling, and numerical simulation. The project indeed aims at knowledge sharing between researchers with different expertise. The skills developed and the outputs produced during this project will set the basis for further collaborative research within BRECcIA engaging other researchers. In particular, we foresee collaborations with the Resilience and Intervention research theme to link water availability assessment, which is the focus of this project, with water and food security for the local communities. |
| Impact | An output of the project is the collection of datasets and models suitable for the analysis of the water and food security nexus in drylands. These will include hydrometeorological dataset, calibrated and validated hydrological models, and simulated streamflows, soil moisture, and groundwater datasets. They will be available to the other BRECcIA research themes and more widely to the international research community. We define proper data sharing protocols and platforms to ensure an easy and long-lasting data accessibility. We aim at collaborative papers to be published on high impact scientific journals about: i) the identification of appropriate scales for water and food security in data scarce regions including the development of an appropriate framework for this, ii) the assessment of water resources availability across the drylands of Kenya, Ghana, and Malawi. Another output of the project is the development of teaching material, which will be used during the workshop on hydrological modelling in drylands. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Multi-model approach to assess water resources availability and variability across Kenya, Ghana and Malawi. |
| Organisation | University of Malawi |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The objectives of this project are to: i) develop a set of hydrological modelling tools to assess water availability and variability in the drylands of Kenya, Ghana, and Malawi, ii) build new research skills and collaborations among the BRECcIA partners, iii) develop impact oriented research. As such it contributes to the two main outcomes of BRECcIA (i.e., capacity building and high-quality research). |
| Collaborator Contribution | The success of the project is based on the collaboration between researchers with expertise in weather and climate dynamics, hydrological processes, mathematical modelling, and numerical simulation. The project indeed aims at knowledge sharing between researchers with different expertise. The skills developed and the outputs produced during this project will set the basis for further collaborative research within BRECcIA engaging other researchers. In particular, we foresee collaborations with the Resilience and Intervention research theme to link water availability assessment, which is the focus of this project, with water and food security for the local communities. |
| Impact | An output of the project is the collection of datasets and models suitable for the analysis of the water and food security nexus in drylands. These will include hydrometeorological dataset, calibrated and validated hydrological models, and simulated streamflows, soil moisture, and groundwater datasets. They will be available to the other BRECcIA research themes and more widely to the international research community. We define proper data sharing protocols and platforms to ensure an easy and long-lasting data accessibility. We aim at collaborative papers to be published on high impact scientific journals about: i) the identification of appropriate scales for water and food security in data scarce regions including the development of an appropriate framework for this, ii) the assessment of water resources availability across the drylands of Kenya, Ghana, and Malawi. Another output of the project is the development of teaching material, which will be used during the workshop on hydrological modelling in drylands. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Predicting water and food security in dry-land regions of Kenya from spatio-temporal trends of rain-induced land surface processes. |
| Organisation | Kenyatta University |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | In this research, we propose to implement a multidisciplinary approach in understanding the spatial and temporal links between rainfall-induced land-processes and food insecurity in dry-regions in Kenya. In particularly we will combine knowledge from multi-temporal satellite image analysis, hydrological modelling, livestock management and agro-economics to propose broad-based strategies for water resource management with the aim of promoting crop production and sustainable livestock management hence achieving food security. The approach will include desktop-based literature review and data analysis, community-based field assessment and participatory mapping hence allowing the members of the community to interact with the researchers while contributing towards the knowledge and tools for sustainable water and natural resource management in their localities. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This project will develop the capacity of the collaborating researchers in setting up and executing scientific experiment, managing small research projects and in scientific publication. In addition, the research assistants will also find an opportunity to participate in an applied research to address the challenge of food security in Kenya. |
| Impact | None yet |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Predicting water and food security in dry-land regions of Kenya from spatio-temporal trends of rain-induced land surface processes. |
| Organisation | Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | In this research, we propose to implement a multidisciplinary approach in understanding the spatial and temporal links between rainfall-induced land-processes and food insecurity in dry-regions in Kenya. In particularly we will combine knowledge from multi-temporal satellite image analysis, hydrological modelling, livestock management and agro-economics to propose broad-based strategies for water resource management with the aim of promoting crop production and sustainable livestock management hence achieving food security. The approach will include desktop-based literature review and data analysis, community-based field assessment and participatory mapping hence allowing the members of the community to interact with the researchers while contributing towards the knowledge and tools for sustainable water and natural resource management in their localities. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This project will develop the capacity of the collaborating researchers in setting up and executing scientific experiment, managing small research projects and in scientific publication. In addition, the research assistants will also find an opportunity to participate in an applied research to address the challenge of food security in Kenya. |
| Impact | None yet |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Predicting water and food security in dry-land regions of Kenya from spatio-temporal trends of rain-induced land surface processes. |
| Organisation | Regional Centre For Mapping Resource For Development |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | In this research, we propose to implement a multidisciplinary approach in understanding the spatial and temporal links between rainfall-induced land-processes and food insecurity in dry-regions in Kenya. In particularly we will combine knowledge from multi-temporal satellite image analysis, hydrological modelling, livestock management and agro-economics to propose broad-based strategies for water resource management with the aim of promoting crop production and sustainable livestock management hence achieving food security. The approach will include desktop-based literature review and data analysis, community-based field assessment and participatory mapping hence allowing the members of the community to interact with the researchers while contributing towards the knowledge and tools for sustainable water and natural resource management in their localities. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This project will develop the capacity of the collaborating researchers in setting up and executing scientific experiment, managing small research projects and in scientific publication. In addition, the research assistants will also find an opportunity to participate in an applied research to address the challenge of food security in Kenya. |
| Impact | None yet |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Predicting water and food security in dry-land regions of Kenya from spatio-temporal trends of rain-induced land surface processes. |
| Organisation | Technical University of Kenya |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | In this research, we propose to implement a multidisciplinary approach in understanding the spatial and temporal links between rainfall-induced land-processes and food insecurity in dry-regions in Kenya. In particularly we will combine knowledge from multi-temporal satellite image analysis, hydrological modelling, livestock management and agro-economics to propose broad-based strategies for water resource management with the aim of promoting crop production and sustainable livestock management hence achieving food security. The approach will include desktop-based literature review and data analysis, community-based field assessment and participatory mapping hence allowing the members of the community to interact with the researchers while contributing towards the knowledge and tools for sustainable water and natural resource management in their localities. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This project will develop the capacity of the collaborating researchers in setting up and executing scientific experiment, managing small research projects and in scientific publication. In addition, the research assistants will also find an opportunity to participate in an applied research to address the challenge of food security in Kenya. |
| Impact | None yet |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Spatial climate change vulnerability assessment of livelihoods in the drylands of Ghana, Kenya and Malawi |
| Organisation | Kenyatta University |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | this research aims to explore the spatial vulnerability of agricultural and rangeland production system livelihoods to climate change impacts across the gradient of dryland socio-ecological systems (i.e. dry sub-humid, semi-arid and arid) in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi. This study will quantify indicators on climate variability trends, the biophysical environment, socio-economic status, water and sanitation, and health and nutrition in terms of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change vulnerability framework. A novel aspect of this study is to combine these factors, which have been independently associated with climate change vulnerability, in a hierarchal spatial analysis to further spatial climate change vulnerability assessments in terms of livelihood typologies and food and water security implications |
| Collaborator Contribution | The specific objectives are: 1. To identify the linkages between livelihoods, food and water insecurity, and climate in drylands of SSA 2. To identify the vulnerability indicators available for each component of vulnerability and assess their contribution to overall vulnerability, with the aim to select the relevant indicators based on these theoretical linkages (Adger and Vincent, 2005). 3. To identify the available and appropriate secondary biophysical and socio-economic factors and evaluate their suitability. 4. To determine the current prevalence of food insecurity and the trends over time and space in the study areas. 5. Quantify the biophysical and socio-economic factors using the five capitals approach to assess the spatial distribution on vulnerability in terms of exposure, sensitivity, adaptive capacity and overall vulnerability to identify hotspots and the determinants of vulnerability. 6. To identify the implications of vulnerability on livelihoods and food and water security in the various dryland socio-ecological system based on specific and common determinants of vulnerability |
| Impact | This project is a collaboration of researchers with expertise in anthropology, resilience, earth observation, policy analysis, vulnerability assessments, socio-ecological mapping, demography and spatial analysis address the multi-faceted components of climate risk and vulnerability. This project has policy implications as it identifies the most vulnerable regions and districts and provides policy makers with appropriate information on for targeted climate adaptation policy in drylands. This project aims to also strengthen vulnerability assessment and analysis to provide timely information to governments regarding identifying the location and intersecting factors of vulnerability and the implications for food and water security especially in resource and data-poor regions such as sub-Saharan Africa. For decision-making, this project aims to produce review report of spatial index of vulnerability methods indicators applicable to drylands and maps produced for stakeholder communication, summarizing and synthesizing information and to guide resource allocations (de Sherbinin et al., 2019). The beneficiaries of this will be policymakers, practitioners, decisionmakers and professionals in the climate and development sphere. The expected impact on society and public is environmental, social and economic. The environmental impact of this research is in contributing to risk assessment in sub-Saharan Africa. Since the focus of this project is on the range of livelihood systems in drylands, by identifying at-risk populations to reduce climate vulnerability and improve food and water security and the potential factors that contribute to their vulnerability, awareness can be created and the groups themselves can be engaged in providing solutions to increase their adaptive capacity, improve livelihoods and income. In this way, the impact on society is improved quality of life and enhanced wellbeing. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Spatial climate change vulnerability assessment of livelihoods in the drylands of Ghana, Kenya and Malawi |
| Organisation | Technical University of Kenya |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | this research aims to explore the spatial vulnerability of agricultural and rangeland production system livelihoods to climate change impacts across the gradient of dryland socio-ecological systems (i.e. dry sub-humid, semi-arid and arid) in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi. This study will quantify indicators on climate variability trends, the biophysical environment, socio-economic status, water and sanitation, and health and nutrition in terms of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change vulnerability framework. A novel aspect of this study is to combine these factors, which have been independently associated with climate change vulnerability, in a hierarchal spatial analysis to further spatial climate change vulnerability assessments in terms of livelihood typologies and food and water security implications |
| Collaborator Contribution | The specific objectives are: 1. To identify the linkages between livelihoods, food and water insecurity, and climate in drylands of SSA 2. To identify the vulnerability indicators available for each component of vulnerability and assess their contribution to overall vulnerability, with the aim to select the relevant indicators based on these theoretical linkages (Adger and Vincent, 2005). 3. To identify the available and appropriate secondary biophysical and socio-economic factors and evaluate their suitability. 4. To determine the current prevalence of food insecurity and the trends over time and space in the study areas. 5. Quantify the biophysical and socio-economic factors using the five capitals approach to assess the spatial distribution on vulnerability in terms of exposure, sensitivity, adaptive capacity and overall vulnerability to identify hotspots and the determinants of vulnerability. 6. To identify the implications of vulnerability on livelihoods and food and water security in the various dryland socio-ecological system based on specific and common determinants of vulnerability |
| Impact | This project is a collaboration of researchers with expertise in anthropology, resilience, earth observation, policy analysis, vulnerability assessments, socio-ecological mapping, demography and spatial analysis address the multi-faceted components of climate risk and vulnerability. This project has policy implications as it identifies the most vulnerable regions and districts and provides policy makers with appropriate information on for targeted climate adaptation policy in drylands. This project aims to also strengthen vulnerability assessment and analysis to provide timely information to governments regarding identifying the location and intersecting factors of vulnerability and the implications for food and water security especially in resource and data-poor regions such as sub-Saharan Africa. For decision-making, this project aims to produce review report of spatial index of vulnerability methods indicators applicable to drylands and maps produced for stakeholder communication, summarizing and synthesizing information and to guide resource allocations (de Sherbinin et al., 2019). The beneficiaries of this will be policymakers, practitioners, decisionmakers and professionals in the climate and development sphere. The expected impact on society and public is environmental, social and economic. The environmental impact of this research is in contributing to risk assessment in sub-Saharan Africa. Since the focus of this project is on the range of livelihood systems in drylands, by identifying at-risk populations to reduce climate vulnerability and improve food and water security and the potential factors that contribute to their vulnerability, awareness can be created and the groups themselves can be engaged in providing solutions to increase their adaptive capacity, improve livelihoods and income. In this way, the impact on society is improved quality of life and enhanced wellbeing. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Spatial climate change vulnerability assessment of livelihoods in the drylands of Ghana, Kenya and Malawi |
| Organisation | University of Ghana |
| Country | Ghana |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | this research aims to explore the spatial vulnerability of agricultural and rangeland production system livelihoods to climate change impacts across the gradient of dryland socio-ecological systems (i.e. dry sub-humid, semi-arid and arid) in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi. This study will quantify indicators on climate variability trends, the biophysical environment, socio-economic status, water and sanitation, and health and nutrition in terms of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change vulnerability framework. A novel aspect of this study is to combine these factors, which have been independently associated with climate change vulnerability, in a hierarchal spatial analysis to further spatial climate change vulnerability assessments in terms of livelihood typologies and food and water security implications |
| Collaborator Contribution | The specific objectives are: 1. To identify the linkages between livelihoods, food and water insecurity, and climate in drylands of SSA 2. To identify the vulnerability indicators available for each component of vulnerability and assess their contribution to overall vulnerability, with the aim to select the relevant indicators based on these theoretical linkages (Adger and Vincent, 2005). 3. To identify the available and appropriate secondary biophysical and socio-economic factors and evaluate their suitability. 4. To determine the current prevalence of food insecurity and the trends over time and space in the study areas. 5. Quantify the biophysical and socio-economic factors using the five capitals approach to assess the spatial distribution on vulnerability in terms of exposure, sensitivity, adaptive capacity and overall vulnerability to identify hotspots and the determinants of vulnerability. 6. To identify the implications of vulnerability on livelihoods and food and water security in the various dryland socio-ecological system based on specific and common determinants of vulnerability |
| Impact | This project is a collaboration of researchers with expertise in anthropology, resilience, earth observation, policy analysis, vulnerability assessments, socio-ecological mapping, demography and spatial analysis address the multi-faceted components of climate risk and vulnerability. This project has policy implications as it identifies the most vulnerable regions and districts and provides policy makers with appropriate information on for targeted climate adaptation policy in drylands. This project aims to also strengthen vulnerability assessment and analysis to provide timely information to governments regarding identifying the location and intersecting factors of vulnerability and the implications for food and water security especially in resource and data-poor regions such as sub-Saharan Africa. For decision-making, this project aims to produce review report of spatial index of vulnerability methods indicators applicable to drylands and maps produced for stakeholder communication, summarizing and synthesizing information and to guide resource allocations (de Sherbinin et al., 2019). The beneficiaries of this will be policymakers, practitioners, decisionmakers and professionals in the climate and development sphere. The expected impact on society and public is environmental, social and economic. The environmental impact of this research is in contributing to risk assessment in sub-Saharan Africa. Since the focus of this project is on the range of livelihood systems in drylands, by identifying at-risk populations to reduce climate vulnerability and improve food and water security and the potential factors that contribute to their vulnerability, awareness can be created and the groups themselves can be engaged in providing solutions to increase their adaptive capacity, improve livelihoods and income. In this way, the impact on society is improved quality of life and enhanced wellbeing. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Spatial climate change vulnerability assessment of livelihoods in the drylands of Ghana, Kenya and Malawi |
| Organisation | University of Malawi |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | this research aims to explore the spatial vulnerability of agricultural and rangeland production system livelihoods to climate change impacts across the gradient of dryland socio-ecological systems (i.e. dry sub-humid, semi-arid and arid) in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi. This study will quantify indicators on climate variability trends, the biophysical environment, socio-economic status, water and sanitation, and health and nutrition in terms of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change vulnerability framework. A novel aspect of this study is to combine these factors, which have been independently associated with climate change vulnerability, in a hierarchal spatial analysis to further spatial climate change vulnerability assessments in terms of livelihood typologies and food and water security implications |
| Collaborator Contribution | The specific objectives are: 1. To identify the linkages between livelihoods, food and water insecurity, and climate in drylands of SSA 2. To identify the vulnerability indicators available for each component of vulnerability and assess their contribution to overall vulnerability, with the aim to select the relevant indicators based on these theoretical linkages (Adger and Vincent, 2005). 3. To identify the available and appropriate secondary biophysical and socio-economic factors and evaluate their suitability. 4. To determine the current prevalence of food insecurity and the trends over time and space in the study areas. 5. Quantify the biophysical and socio-economic factors using the five capitals approach to assess the spatial distribution on vulnerability in terms of exposure, sensitivity, adaptive capacity and overall vulnerability to identify hotspots and the determinants of vulnerability. 6. To identify the implications of vulnerability on livelihoods and food and water security in the various dryland socio-ecological system based on specific and common determinants of vulnerability |
| Impact | This project is a collaboration of researchers with expertise in anthropology, resilience, earth observation, policy analysis, vulnerability assessments, socio-ecological mapping, demography and spatial analysis address the multi-faceted components of climate risk and vulnerability. This project has policy implications as it identifies the most vulnerable regions and districts and provides policy makers with appropriate information on for targeted climate adaptation policy in drylands. This project aims to also strengthen vulnerability assessment and analysis to provide timely information to governments regarding identifying the location and intersecting factors of vulnerability and the implications for food and water security especially in resource and data-poor regions such as sub-Saharan Africa. For decision-making, this project aims to produce review report of spatial index of vulnerability methods indicators applicable to drylands and maps produced for stakeholder communication, summarizing and synthesizing information and to guide resource allocations (de Sherbinin et al., 2019). The beneficiaries of this will be policymakers, practitioners, decisionmakers and professionals in the climate and development sphere. The expected impact on society and public is environmental, social and economic. The environmental impact of this research is in contributing to risk assessment in sub-Saharan Africa. Since the focus of this project is on the range of livelihood systems in drylands, by identifying at-risk populations to reduce climate vulnerability and improve food and water security and the potential factors that contribute to their vulnerability, awareness can be created and the groups themselves can be engaged in providing solutions to increase their adaptive capacity, improve livelihoods and income. In this way, the impact on society is improved quality of life and enhanced wellbeing. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Spatial climate change vulnerability assessment of livelihoods in the drylands of Ghana, Kenya and Malawi |
| Organisation | University of Southampton |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | this research aims to explore the spatial vulnerability of agricultural and rangeland production system livelihoods to climate change impacts across the gradient of dryland socio-ecological systems (i.e. dry sub-humid, semi-arid and arid) in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi. This study will quantify indicators on climate variability trends, the biophysical environment, socio-economic status, water and sanitation, and health and nutrition in terms of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change vulnerability framework. A novel aspect of this study is to combine these factors, which have been independently associated with climate change vulnerability, in a hierarchal spatial analysis to further spatial climate change vulnerability assessments in terms of livelihood typologies and food and water security implications |
| Collaborator Contribution | The specific objectives are: 1. To identify the linkages between livelihoods, food and water insecurity, and climate in drylands of SSA 2. To identify the vulnerability indicators available for each component of vulnerability and assess their contribution to overall vulnerability, with the aim to select the relevant indicators based on these theoretical linkages (Adger and Vincent, 2005). 3. To identify the available and appropriate secondary biophysical and socio-economic factors and evaluate their suitability. 4. To determine the current prevalence of food insecurity and the trends over time and space in the study areas. 5. Quantify the biophysical and socio-economic factors using the five capitals approach to assess the spatial distribution on vulnerability in terms of exposure, sensitivity, adaptive capacity and overall vulnerability to identify hotspots and the determinants of vulnerability. 6. To identify the implications of vulnerability on livelihoods and food and water security in the various dryland socio-ecological system based on specific and common determinants of vulnerability |
| Impact | This project is a collaboration of researchers with expertise in anthropology, resilience, earth observation, policy analysis, vulnerability assessments, socio-ecological mapping, demography and spatial analysis address the multi-faceted components of climate risk and vulnerability. This project has policy implications as it identifies the most vulnerable regions and districts and provides policy makers with appropriate information on for targeted climate adaptation policy in drylands. This project aims to also strengthen vulnerability assessment and analysis to provide timely information to governments regarding identifying the location and intersecting factors of vulnerability and the implications for food and water security especially in resource and data-poor regions such as sub-Saharan Africa. For decision-making, this project aims to produce review report of spatial index of vulnerability methods indicators applicable to drylands and maps produced for stakeholder communication, summarizing and synthesizing information and to guide resource allocations (de Sherbinin et al., 2019). The beneficiaries of this will be policymakers, practitioners, decisionmakers and professionals in the climate and development sphere. The expected impact on society and public is environmental, social and economic. The environmental impact of this research is in contributing to risk assessment in sub-Saharan Africa. Since the focus of this project is on the range of livelihood systems in drylands, by identifying at-risk populations to reduce climate vulnerability and improve food and water security and the potential factors that contribute to their vulnerability, awareness can be created and the groups themselves can be engaged in providing solutions to increase their adaptive capacity, improve livelihoods and income. In this way, the impact on society is improved quality of life and enhanced wellbeing. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Trends in climate variability, land use change, watershed governance and implications on food security in the dryland of Suam River Basin, West Pokot County, Kenya |
| Organisation | Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The study aims to establish trends in climate variability, land use/cover change covering the period (1992-2018). This is the period when governance has been characterised by multiparty democracy in Kenya and how the resultant watershed governance has been responding to those changes to ensure food security in the dryland of Suam River Basin, West Pokot County Kenya. Thus socio-ecological and political economy theories will guide the study. Specific objectives will include to: i. Analyze the characteristics of climate variability, land use, cover changes implications to food security in Suam river basin. ii. Determine the knowledge and attitudes of pastoralist and agro-pastoralist on climate variability and watershed governance in relation to food security in Suam river basin. iii. Examine the pastoralist and agro-pastoralist adaptive strategies, capacity and co-management in response to climate variability and land use changes in Suam river basin. iv. Evaluate the impacts of devolved watershed governance structures on pastoralist and agro-pastoralist food security in Suam river basin. v. Provide research-based evidence on institutional capacity building and policy changes in climate change, watershed governance and food security. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Secondary data will mainly be acquired from the Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of USA to detect and present significant changes in land use and land cover, data for 26 years (1992-2018), geospatially presented, analyzed and interpreted. The study will utilize LULC using dry season imagery (January- March, July-September) when skies are clear. Cross-sectional and quasi-experimental research design will be adopted to show the relationship between climate variability, land use, land cover change and governance and food security variables. |
| Impact | This study is embedded in the disciplines of climatology, earth observation, hydrometeorology, anthropology, sociology, natural resource management, environment and development. This research project aims at using Research for Impact approach to change policy, practises and behaviour. Therefore, envisages the following potential pathways to impact: i. Planning for resource use through informed socio-ecological decision making processes. ii. Monitoring and learning: enhance capacities of different stakeholders in the communities and county government to enhance skills in climate variability, land use, cover change, watershed governance and food security monitoring using geospatial and participatory techniques at the community watershed level. iii. Stakeholder engagement: Promote adoption and operationalization of the results obtained by the local communities through strengthening of extension services by county governments. iv. Capacity development: enhance researchers' capacity. This will be achieved through the interdisciplinary nature of the study and co-designing and implementation of the research. Researchers involved will be to learn from each other in a team during the research process. v. Strategic partnerships: to build the capacity of Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, School of Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance in geospatial techniques application in monitoring climate variability, land use, cover changes, watershed governance and food security and change the undergraduate and graduate curriculum on water and food security courses. vi. Influencing policy: intends to informs policymaking and the implementation on climate variability, land use, cover changes, governance and food security in Kenya and Malawi in Africa. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Trends in climate variability, land use change, watershed governance and implications on food security in the dryland of Suam River Basin, West Pokot County, Kenya |
| Organisation | Technical University of Kenya |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The study aims to establish trends in climate variability, land use/cover change covering the period (1992-2018). This is the period when governance has been characterised by multiparty democracy in Kenya and how the resultant watershed governance has been responding to those changes to ensure food security in the dryland of Suam River Basin, West Pokot County Kenya. Thus socio-ecological and political economy theories will guide the study. Specific objectives will include to: i. Analyze the characteristics of climate variability, land use, cover changes implications to food security in Suam river basin. ii. Determine the knowledge and attitudes of pastoralist and agro-pastoralist on climate variability and watershed governance in relation to food security in Suam river basin. iii. Examine the pastoralist and agro-pastoralist adaptive strategies, capacity and co-management in response to climate variability and land use changes in Suam river basin. iv. Evaluate the impacts of devolved watershed governance structures on pastoralist and agro-pastoralist food security in Suam river basin. v. Provide research-based evidence on institutional capacity building and policy changes in climate change, watershed governance and food security. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Secondary data will mainly be acquired from the Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of USA to detect and present significant changes in land use and land cover, data for 26 years (1992-2018), geospatially presented, analyzed and interpreted. The study will utilize LULC using dry season imagery (January- March, July-September) when skies are clear. Cross-sectional and quasi-experimental research design will be adopted to show the relationship between climate variability, land use, land cover change and governance and food security variables. |
| Impact | This study is embedded in the disciplines of climatology, earth observation, hydrometeorology, anthropology, sociology, natural resource management, environment and development. This research project aims at using Research for Impact approach to change policy, practises and behaviour. Therefore, envisages the following potential pathways to impact: i. Planning for resource use through informed socio-ecological decision making processes. ii. Monitoring and learning: enhance capacities of different stakeholders in the communities and county government to enhance skills in climate variability, land use, cover change, watershed governance and food security monitoring using geospatial and participatory techniques at the community watershed level. iii. Stakeholder engagement: Promote adoption and operationalization of the results obtained by the local communities through strengthening of extension services by county governments. iv. Capacity development: enhance researchers' capacity. This will be achieved through the interdisciplinary nature of the study and co-designing and implementation of the research. Researchers involved will be to learn from each other in a team during the research process. v. Strategic partnerships: to build the capacity of Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, School of Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance in geospatial techniques application in monitoring climate variability, land use, cover changes, watershed governance and food security and change the undergraduate and graduate curriculum on water and food security courses. vi. Influencing policy: intends to informs policymaking and the implementation on climate variability, land use, cover changes, governance and food security in Kenya and Malawi in Africa. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Trends in climate variability, land use change, watershed governance and implications on food security in the dryland of Suam River Basin, West Pokot County, Kenya |
| Organisation | University of Malawi |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The study aims to establish trends in climate variability, land use/cover change covering the period (1992-2018). This is the period when governance has been characterised by multiparty democracy in Kenya and how the resultant watershed governance has been responding to those changes to ensure food security in the dryland of Suam River Basin, West Pokot County Kenya. Thus socio-ecological and political economy theories will guide the study. Specific objectives will include to: i. Analyze the characteristics of climate variability, land use, cover changes implications to food security in Suam river basin. ii. Determine the knowledge and attitudes of pastoralist and agro-pastoralist on climate variability and watershed governance in relation to food security in Suam river basin. iii. Examine the pastoralist and agro-pastoralist adaptive strategies, capacity and co-management in response to climate variability and land use changes in Suam river basin. iv. Evaluate the impacts of devolved watershed governance structures on pastoralist and agro-pastoralist food security in Suam river basin. v. Provide research-based evidence on institutional capacity building and policy changes in climate change, watershed governance and food security. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Secondary data will mainly be acquired from the Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of USA to detect and present significant changes in land use and land cover, data for 26 years (1992-2018), geospatially presented, analyzed and interpreted. The study will utilize LULC using dry season imagery (January- March, July-September) when skies are clear. Cross-sectional and quasi-experimental research design will be adopted to show the relationship between climate variability, land use, land cover change and governance and food security variables. |
| Impact | This study is embedded in the disciplines of climatology, earth observation, hydrometeorology, anthropology, sociology, natural resource management, environment and development. This research project aims at using Research for Impact approach to change policy, practises and behaviour. Therefore, envisages the following potential pathways to impact: i. Planning for resource use through informed socio-ecological decision making processes. ii. Monitoring and learning: enhance capacities of different stakeholders in the communities and county government to enhance skills in climate variability, land use, cover change, watershed governance and food security monitoring using geospatial and participatory techniques at the community watershed level. iii. Stakeholder engagement: Promote adoption and operationalization of the results obtained by the local communities through strengthening of extension services by county governments. iv. Capacity development: enhance researchers' capacity. This will be achieved through the interdisciplinary nature of the study and co-designing and implementation of the research. Researchers involved will be to learn from each other in a team during the research process. v. Strategic partnerships: to build the capacity of Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, School of Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance in geospatial techniques application in monitoring climate variability, land use, cover changes, watershed governance and food security and change the undergraduate and graduate curriculum on water and food security courses. vi. Influencing policy: intends to informs policymaking and the implementation on climate variability, land use, cover changes, governance and food security in Kenya and Malawi in Africa. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Understanding the outcomes of developing and strengthening networks in an international food and water security research project |
| Organisation | International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | One of the BRECcIA project's objectives is to strengthen networks for enhancing research and development impact in the areas of food and water security, focusing on sub-Saharan Africa. Collaborative work is taking place across disciplines, organisations, and countries. Researchers are being encouraged to engage and work directly with communities, policy makers, non-governmental organisations, and other researchers in partner countries. This specific research study aims to document what networks are being formed by BRECcIA, their distribution and cohesion, and what outcomes and potential longer term impact may be achieved. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Specific objectives: ? Identify connections between actors (within project team and with stakeholders) ? Explore how the project's research networks develop between 2020 and 2021 and the anticipated and actual outcomes of these ? Identify key 'brokers' and 'influencers' in the networks and whether they are being targeted appropriately ? Identify individuals or organisations that are not well 'connected' and whether action needs to be taken to engage them further ? Assess the effect of one's self awareness of their position in the network Location of the project: UK, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi (potentially also engaging the regional centres in Niger and Zimbabwe) |
| Impact | The project feeds into the monitoring and evaluation of BRECcIA as a whole. We would expect impact to be mostly delivered through encouraging the team and stakeholders to reflect on their relationships and what these interactions are leading to in terms of short and long term outcomes, with any potential impact leading on from this. By producing a range of outputs for different audiences, including network maps, a methods paper, items for the project newsletter, and blog posts, we can raise awareness and influence people's thinking about networks and their participation in them. This may lead to behaviour change in the long term (although we won't be in a position to measure this). |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Understanding the outcomes of developing and strengthening networks in an international food and water security research project |
| Organisation | Kenyatta University |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | One of the BRECcIA project's objectives is to strengthen networks for enhancing research and development impact in the areas of food and water security, focusing on sub-Saharan Africa. Collaborative work is taking place across disciplines, organisations, and countries. Researchers are being encouraged to engage and work directly with communities, policy makers, non-governmental organisations, and other researchers in partner countries. This specific research study aims to document what networks are being formed by BRECcIA, their distribution and cohesion, and what outcomes and potential longer term impact may be achieved. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Specific objectives: ? Identify connections between actors (within project team and with stakeholders) ? Explore how the project's research networks develop between 2020 and 2021 and the anticipated and actual outcomes of these ? Identify key 'brokers' and 'influencers' in the networks and whether they are being targeted appropriately ? Identify individuals or organisations that are not well 'connected' and whether action needs to be taken to engage them further ? Assess the effect of one's self awareness of their position in the network Location of the project: UK, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi (potentially also engaging the regional centres in Niger and Zimbabwe) |
| Impact | The project feeds into the monitoring and evaluation of BRECcIA as a whole. We would expect impact to be mostly delivered through encouraging the team and stakeholders to reflect on their relationships and what these interactions are leading to in terms of short and long term outcomes, with any potential impact leading on from this. By producing a range of outputs for different audiences, including network maps, a methods paper, items for the project newsletter, and blog posts, we can raise awareness and influence people's thinking about networks and their participation in them. This may lead to behaviour change in the long term (although we won't be in a position to measure this). |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Understanding the outcomes of developing and strengthening networks in an international food and water security research project |
| Organisation | University of Ghana |
| Country | Ghana |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | One of the BRECcIA project's objectives is to strengthen networks for enhancing research and development impact in the areas of food and water security, focusing on sub-Saharan Africa. Collaborative work is taking place across disciplines, organisations, and countries. Researchers are being encouraged to engage and work directly with communities, policy makers, non-governmental organisations, and other researchers in partner countries. This specific research study aims to document what networks are being formed by BRECcIA, their distribution and cohesion, and what outcomes and potential longer term impact may be achieved. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Specific objectives: ? Identify connections between actors (within project team and with stakeholders) ? Explore how the project's research networks develop between 2020 and 2021 and the anticipated and actual outcomes of these ? Identify key 'brokers' and 'influencers' in the networks and whether they are being targeted appropriately ? Identify individuals or organisations that are not well 'connected' and whether action needs to be taken to engage them further ? Assess the effect of one's self awareness of their position in the network Location of the project: UK, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi (potentially also engaging the regional centres in Niger and Zimbabwe) |
| Impact | The project feeds into the monitoring and evaluation of BRECcIA as a whole. We would expect impact to be mostly delivered through encouraging the team and stakeholders to reflect on their relationships and what these interactions are leading to in terms of short and long term outcomes, with any potential impact leading on from this. By producing a range of outputs for different audiences, including network maps, a methods paper, items for the project newsletter, and blog posts, we can raise awareness and influence people's thinking about networks and their participation in them. This may lead to behaviour change in the long term (although we won't be in a position to measure this). |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Understanding the outcomes of developing and strengthening networks in an international food and water security research project |
| Organisation | University of Malawi |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | One of the BRECcIA project's objectives is to strengthen networks for enhancing research and development impact in the areas of food and water security, focusing on sub-Saharan Africa. Collaborative work is taking place across disciplines, organisations, and countries. Researchers are being encouraged to engage and work directly with communities, policy makers, non-governmental organisations, and other researchers in partner countries. This specific research study aims to document what networks are being formed by BRECcIA, their distribution and cohesion, and what outcomes and potential longer term impact may be achieved. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Specific objectives: ? Identify connections between actors (within project team and with stakeholders) ? Explore how the project's research networks develop between 2020 and 2021 and the anticipated and actual outcomes of these ? Identify key 'brokers' and 'influencers' in the networks and whether they are being targeted appropriately ? Identify individuals or organisations that are not well 'connected' and whether action needs to be taken to engage them further ? Assess the effect of one's self awareness of their position in the network Location of the project: UK, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi (potentially also engaging the regional centres in Niger and Zimbabwe) |
| Impact | The project feeds into the monitoring and evaluation of BRECcIA as a whole. We would expect impact to be mostly delivered through encouraging the team and stakeholders to reflect on their relationships and what these interactions are leading to in terms of short and long term outcomes, with any potential impact leading on from this. By producing a range of outputs for different audiences, including network maps, a methods paper, items for the project newsletter, and blog posts, we can raise awareness and influence people's thinking about networks and their participation in them. This may lead to behaviour change in the long term (although we won't be in a position to measure this). |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Understanding the outcomes of developing and strengthening networks in an international food and water security research project |
| Organisation | University of Southampton |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | One of the BRECcIA project's objectives is to strengthen networks for enhancing research and development impact in the areas of food and water security, focusing on sub-Saharan Africa. Collaborative work is taking place across disciplines, organisations, and countries. Researchers are being encouraged to engage and work directly with communities, policy makers, non-governmental organisations, and other researchers in partner countries. This specific research study aims to document what networks are being formed by BRECcIA, their distribution and cohesion, and what outcomes and potential longer term impact may be achieved. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Specific objectives: ? Identify connections between actors (within project team and with stakeholders) ? Explore how the project's research networks develop between 2020 and 2021 and the anticipated and actual outcomes of these ? Identify key 'brokers' and 'influencers' in the networks and whether they are being targeted appropriately ? Identify individuals or organisations that are not well 'connected' and whether action needs to be taken to engage them further ? Assess the effect of one's self awareness of their position in the network Location of the project: UK, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi (potentially also engaging the regional centres in Niger and Zimbabwe) |
| Impact | The project feeds into the monitoring and evaluation of BRECcIA as a whole. We would expect impact to be mostly delivered through encouraging the team and stakeholders to reflect on their relationships and what these interactions are leading to in terms of short and long term outcomes, with any potential impact leading on from this. By producing a range of outputs for different audiences, including network maps, a methods paper, items for the project newsletter, and blog posts, we can raise awareness and influence people's thinking about networks and their participation in them. This may lead to behaviour change in the long term (although we won't be in a position to measure this). |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Utilisation patterns and management of the invasive species Prosopsis juliflora in the drylands of Turkana, Kenya |
| Organisation | Leadership for Environment and Development Southern and Eastern Africa |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | This project seeks to quantify the prevalence of this species spatial-temporally and determine the areas that are likely to be attacked in future. Further it seeks to determine the most ideal way of utilising Prosopis juliflora for human consumption and hence reducing its growth. Studies elsewhere (Choge et al. 2007, Sirmah et al. 2011) show the exploitation of this shrub for uses that range from fuelwood fodder timber etc. By this exploitation two main benefits and positive impacts will be gained. These are reduced climate change vagaries on food and water security and added incomes from the exploited P. juliflora shrub |
| Collaborator Contribution | The invasive shrub Prosopis juliflora is a prolific shrub invader in drylands (Pyšek et al. 2013, Obiri 2011). It has deep growing roots that easily reach down to the water table, outcompetes the other plants for water and exacerbates the crop water stress in dryland ecosystems. It colonises the land by growing into dense thickets where very few other types of plants can grow. In particular, it scorches out the grass thus degrading the livestock pasture lands that are important to pastoralists in Turkana drylands. Reduced pastureland results into compounded problems of tribal conflicts over pastures, limited livestock fodder, reduced milk and meat products and ultimately food insecurity, besides reduce local economic incomes. With climate changes, particularly climate variability, these problems are enhanced hence the need to control the invasive species Prosopis juliflora. Specific objectives: i. To determine the spatial-temporal distribution of Prosopis juliflora for the past two decades in Turkana region of Kenya ii. To predict the regions of Turkana County likely to be invaded by Prosopis juliflora in future. iii. To determine the levels of utilisation of Prosopis juliflora by local communities and thus management options for the controlling the invasive shrub iv. To investigate socio-economic factors that influence the adoption and utilisation of Prosopis juliflora in Turkana Region. v. Enhance capacity of researchers in application of remote sensing techniques for precision ecological monitoring of the fragile dryland of Turkana. |
| Impact | The project embraces interdisciplinary in the fact that is covers disciplines of dryland ecology, remote sensing, socio-economics / demographics and capacity building. Thus, it will require ecologists, remote sensing experts, sociologists, soil scientists and educators. . In formulating the project, members of the National Drought Management Authority and the Arid and Semi-arid Areas (ASALs) stakeholders' forum were consulted during a stakeholders meeting in Machakos, Kenya. During the meeting current socio-livelihoods issues of drylands, and Turkana in particular, were discussed with regards to the spread of the invasive Prosopis juliflora and its effect on water and food security. The impact of the study could include: - a. The precise area attacked by the invader shrub and its changing pattern with time will enable environmental planners at the regional and national governments make better plans and decisions for development of future dryland pasture lands for pastoralists. b. Knowledge of the current land cover in riverine areas that are under the invader shrub will inform agriculturists of the total potential area for crop growing, and which can be reclaimed for enhanced food crop agriculture. c. The various socio-economic options for exploiting Prosopis juliflora will be known and their value chains in the communities enhanced. d. Pastoralists will have improved resilience to climate change due to sound decision making based from precise information on the spatial-temporal distribution and state of the varied grazing lands for their livestock, and better food security. e. Enhanced research capacity on remote sensing and thus improved monitoring of the health conditions of pasture lands in the fragile drylands of Kenya. f. Control of the invasive shrub will increase the area of healthy pasture land and therefore reduce the tribal and clan conflicts arising from scare pastureland. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Utilisation patterns and management of the invasive species Prosopsis juliflora in the drylands of Turkana, Kenya |
| Organisation | Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This project seeks to quantify the prevalence of this species spatial-temporally and determine the areas that are likely to be attacked in future. Further it seeks to determine the most ideal way of utilising Prosopis juliflora for human consumption and hence reducing its growth. Studies elsewhere (Choge et al. 2007, Sirmah et al. 2011) show the exploitation of this shrub for uses that range from fuelwood fodder timber etc. By this exploitation two main benefits and positive impacts will be gained. These are reduced climate change vagaries on food and water security and added incomes from the exploited P. juliflora shrub |
| Collaborator Contribution | The invasive shrub Prosopis juliflora is a prolific shrub invader in drylands (Pyšek et al. 2013, Obiri 2011). It has deep growing roots that easily reach down to the water table, outcompetes the other plants for water and exacerbates the crop water stress in dryland ecosystems. It colonises the land by growing into dense thickets where very few other types of plants can grow. In particular, it scorches out the grass thus degrading the livestock pasture lands that are important to pastoralists in Turkana drylands. Reduced pastureland results into compounded problems of tribal conflicts over pastures, limited livestock fodder, reduced milk and meat products and ultimately food insecurity, besides reduce local economic incomes. With climate changes, particularly climate variability, these problems are enhanced hence the need to control the invasive species Prosopis juliflora. Specific objectives: i. To determine the spatial-temporal distribution of Prosopis juliflora for the past two decades in Turkana region of Kenya ii. To predict the regions of Turkana County likely to be invaded by Prosopis juliflora in future. iii. To determine the levels of utilisation of Prosopis juliflora by local communities and thus management options for the controlling the invasive shrub iv. To investigate socio-economic factors that influence the adoption and utilisation of Prosopis juliflora in Turkana Region. v. Enhance capacity of researchers in application of remote sensing techniques for precision ecological monitoring of the fragile dryland of Turkana. |
| Impact | The project embraces interdisciplinary in the fact that is covers disciplines of dryland ecology, remote sensing, socio-economics / demographics and capacity building. Thus, it will require ecologists, remote sensing experts, sociologists, soil scientists and educators. . In formulating the project, members of the National Drought Management Authority and the Arid and Semi-arid Areas (ASALs) stakeholders' forum were consulted during a stakeholders meeting in Machakos, Kenya. During the meeting current socio-livelihoods issues of drylands, and Turkana in particular, were discussed with regards to the spread of the invasive Prosopis juliflora and its effect on water and food security. The impact of the study could include: - a. The precise area attacked by the invader shrub and its changing pattern with time will enable environmental planners at the regional and national governments make better plans and decisions for development of future dryland pasture lands for pastoralists. b. Knowledge of the current land cover in riverine areas that are under the invader shrub will inform agriculturists of the total potential area for crop growing, and which can be reclaimed for enhanced food crop agriculture. c. The various socio-economic options for exploiting Prosopis juliflora will be known and their value chains in the communities enhanced. d. Pastoralists will have improved resilience to climate change due to sound decision making based from precise information on the spatial-temporal distribution and state of the varied grazing lands for their livestock, and better food security. e. Enhanced research capacity on remote sensing and thus improved monitoring of the health conditions of pasture lands in the fragile drylands of Kenya. f. Control of the invasive shrub will increase the area of healthy pasture land and therefore reduce the tribal and clan conflicts arising from scare pastureland. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Utilisation patterns and management of the invasive species Prosopsis juliflora in the drylands of Turkana, Kenya |
| Organisation | Technical University of Kenya |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This project seeks to quantify the prevalence of this species spatial-temporally and determine the areas that are likely to be attacked in future. Further it seeks to determine the most ideal way of utilising Prosopis juliflora for human consumption and hence reducing its growth. Studies elsewhere (Choge et al. 2007, Sirmah et al. 2011) show the exploitation of this shrub for uses that range from fuelwood fodder timber etc. By this exploitation two main benefits and positive impacts will be gained. These are reduced climate change vagaries on food and water security and added incomes from the exploited P. juliflora shrub |
| Collaborator Contribution | The invasive shrub Prosopis juliflora is a prolific shrub invader in drylands (Pyšek et al. 2013, Obiri 2011). It has deep growing roots that easily reach down to the water table, outcompetes the other plants for water and exacerbates the crop water stress in dryland ecosystems. It colonises the land by growing into dense thickets where very few other types of plants can grow. In particular, it scorches out the grass thus degrading the livestock pasture lands that are important to pastoralists in Turkana drylands. Reduced pastureland results into compounded problems of tribal conflicts over pastures, limited livestock fodder, reduced milk and meat products and ultimately food insecurity, besides reduce local economic incomes. With climate changes, particularly climate variability, these problems are enhanced hence the need to control the invasive species Prosopis juliflora. Specific objectives: i. To determine the spatial-temporal distribution of Prosopis juliflora for the past two decades in Turkana region of Kenya ii. To predict the regions of Turkana County likely to be invaded by Prosopis juliflora in future. iii. To determine the levels of utilisation of Prosopis juliflora by local communities and thus management options for the controlling the invasive shrub iv. To investigate socio-economic factors that influence the adoption and utilisation of Prosopis juliflora in Turkana Region. v. Enhance capacity of researchers in application of remote sensing techniques for precision ecological monitoring of the fragile dryland of Turkana. |
| Impact | The project embraces interdisciplinary in the fact that is covers disciplines of dryland ecology, remote sensing, socio-economics / demographics and capacity building. Thus, it will require ecologists, remote sensing experts, sociologists, soil scientists and educators. . In formulating the project, members of the National Drought Management Authority and the Arid and Semi-arid Areas (ASALs) stakeholders' forum were consulted during a stakeholders meeting in Machakos, Kenya. During the meeting current socio-livelihoods issues of drylands, and Turkana in particular, were discussed with regards to the spread of the invasive Prosopis juliflora and its effect on water and food security. The impact of the study could include: - a. The precise area attacked by the invader shrub and its changing pattern with time will enable environmental planners at the regional and national governments make better plans and decisions for development of future dryland pasture lands for pastoralists. b. Knowledge of the current land cover in riverine areas that are under the invader shrub will inform agriculturists of the total potential area for crop growing, and which can be reclaimed for enhanced food crop agriculture. c. The various socio-economic options for exploiting Prosopis juliflora will be known and their value chains in the communities enhanced. d. Pastoralists will have improved resilience to climate change due to sound decision making based from precise information on the spatial-temporal distribution and state of the varied grazing lands for their livestock, and better food security. e. Enhanced research capacity on remote sensing and thus improved monitoring of the health conditions of pasture lands in the fragile drylands of Kenya. f. Control of the invasive shrub will increase the area of healthy pasture land and therefore reduce the tribal and clan conflicts arising from scare pastureland. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Water harvesting technologies as resilience strategy for sustainable water and food security in dry land areas of Ghana. |
| Organisation | Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This project addresses a challenge to ensuring sustainable water and food security in drylands of northern Ghana which was articulated at BRECcIA 2018 stakeholder workshop in Tamale and also captured in the Ghana's theory of change as reports of underutilized dams. Over-reliance on rain-fed agriculture is being threatened by climate change/variability and other environmental stressors. The study aims to assess the duration of harvested water use for irrigation and domestic purposes, and its implications for public health and crop/livestock productivity in the Upper East Region of Ghana. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Objectives for all partners are: • To classify small-scale agricultural water harvesting facilities (i.e. informal dugouts, sand dams) via satellite image processing • To develop a model that predicts duration of use of harvested water from field and remotely sensed data; • To identify practices and technologies that optimise harvested water use, so as to make recommendations; • To evaluate water harvested resources' influence on user farmers in terms of farming practices and seasonal yield as compared to non-user farmers. |
| Impact | Possible learnings on dugout construction and domestic water harvesting to be disseminated between participants & sharing of approaches to harvesting water that works well. This would boost household livelihood since the project is envisaged to enable farming all season. Water harvested and stored in surface ponds or aquifers is often used as a source of supplemental irrigation that can improve rain-fed yields and help stabilize farmers' production and income. Supplemental irrigation also increases farmers' resilience and adaptation to climate change. This technology can reduce vulnerability to dry spells, reduce yield losses and allow farmers invest in other inputs, such as fertilizers and high-yielding varieties |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BRECcIA Small Research Project: Water harvesting technologies as resilience strategy for sustainable water and food security in dry land areas of Ghana. |
| Organisation | University of Ghana |
| Country | Ghana |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This project addresses a challenge to ensuring sustainable water and food security in drylands of northern Ghana which was articulated at BRECcIA 2018 stakeholder workshop in Tamale and also captured in the Ghana's theory of change as reports of underutilized dams. Over-reliance on rain-fed agriculture is being threatened by climate change/variability and other environmental stressors. The study aims to assess the duration of harvested water use for irrigation and domestic purposes, and its implications for public health and crop/livestock productivity in the Upper East Region of Ghana. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Objectives for all partners are: • To classify small-scale agricultural water harvesting facilities (i.e. informal dugouts, sand dams) via satellite image processing • To develop a model that predicts duration of use of harvested water from field and remotely sensed data; • To identify practices and technologies that optimise harvested water use, so as to make recommendations; • To evaluate water harvested resources' influence on user farmers in terms of farming practices and seasonal yield as compared to non-user farmers. |
| Impact | Possible learnings on dugout construction and domestic water harvesting to be disseminated between participants & sharing of approaches to harvesting water that works well. This would boost household livelihood since the project is envisaged to enable farming all season. Water harvested and stored in surface ponds or aquifers is often used as a source of supplemental irrigation that can improve rain-fed yields and help stabilize farmers' production and income. Supplemental irrigation also increases farmers' resilience and adaptation to climate change. This technology can reduce vulnerability to dry spells, reduce yield losses and allow farmers invest in other inputs, such as fertilizers and high-yielding varieties |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | LRP 2 | Resilience |
| Organisation | Kenyatta University |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | National-level resilience policies tend to overlook the social, political, and local-level contextual dimensions of resilience, instead grounding resilience within conventional scientific framings. However, research demonstrates that failing to grapple with plural knowledge systems and experiences-which are embedded in sociopolitical and local-level contexts and practices-will likely lead to resilience strategies that are unsuccessful and disempower the very communities they are ostensibly seeking to support. Provisionally, the paper's objectives are as follows: 1) Analyze national-level resilience policies (or those closely related to resilience) in Kenya, Malawi and Ghana for how they approach resilience, both conceptually and (if applicable) in terms of how to improve or strengthen resilience (and for whom and within what types of contexts) 2) Synthesize the findings of case studies (the SRPs) conducted in each of these three countries with the aim of identifying gaps in national-level resilience policies, particularly as they pertain to local knowledge systems and the social and political dimensions in which they are embedded, and 3) Based on our synthesis, provide recommendations for how national-level resilience policies can integrate and learn from plural knowledge systems and experiences, which we characterize as culturally-situated, place-based and embedded within power relations and knowledge politics. It is possible that there will be a need for conducting additional interviews with stakeholders. We will synthesize findings from SRPs which conducted qualitative interviews with stakeholders, so understanding stakeholder perspectives is the main focus of the paper (vis-à-vis national-level policy documents). |
| Collaborator Contribution | This synthesis paper depends on relevant data from SRPs. Matt Kandel (beginning the week of the 15th of February) will begin holding meetings with SRP leads to understand the data they have collected. Ideally, SRPs from all three countries (Malawi, Kenya and Ghana) will be represented. Assessing availability of relevant data is currently a key focus and this assessment builds on the findings from a consultant's report (completed in December 2020). |
| Impact | None |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP 2 | Resilience |
| Organisation | University of Ghana |
| Country | Ghana |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | National-level resilience policies tend to overlook the social, political, and local-level contextual dimensions of resilience, instead grounding resilience within conventional scientific framings. However, research demonstrates that failing to grapple with plural knowledge systems and experiences-which are embedded in sociopolitical and local-level contexts and practices-will likely lead to resilience strategies that are unsuccessful and disempower the very communities they are ostensibly seeking to support. Provisionally, the paper's objectives are as follows: 1) Analyze national-level resilience policies (or those closely related to resilience) in Kenya, Malawi and Ghana for how they approach resilience, both conceptually and (if applicable) in terms of how to improve or strengthen resilience (and for whom and within what types of contexts) 2) Synthesize the findings of case studies (the SRPs) conducted in each of these three countries with the aim of identifying gaps in national-level resilience policies, particularly as they pertain to local knowledge systems and the social and political dimensions in which they are embedded, and 3) Based on our synthesis, provide recommendations for how national-level resilience policies can integrate and learn from plural knowledge systems and experiences, which we characterize as culturally-situated, place-based and embedded within power relations and knowledge politics. It is possible that there will be a need for conducting additional interviews with stakeholders. We will synthesize findings from SRPs which conducted qualitative interviews with stakeholders, so understanding stakeholder perspectives is the main focus of the paper (vis-à-vis national-level policy documents). |
| Collaborator Contribution | This synthesis paper depends on relevant data from SRPs. Matt Kandel (beginning the week of the 15th of February) will begin holding meetings with SRP leads to understand the data they have collected. Ideally, SRPs from all three countries (Malawi, Kenya and Ghana) will be represented. Assessing availability of relevant data is currently a key focus and this assessment builds on the findings from a consultant's report (completed in December 2020). |
| Impact | None |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP 2 | Resilience |
| Organisation | University of Malawi |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | National-level resilience policies tend to overlook the social, political, and local-level contextual dimensions of resilience, instead grounding resilience within conventional scientific framings. However, research demonstrates that failing to grapple with plural knowledge systems and experiences-which are embedded in sociopolitical and local-level contexts and practices-will likely lead to resilience strategies that are unsuccessful and disempower the very communities they are ostensibly seeking to support. Provisionally, the paper's objectives are as follows: 1) Analyze national-level resilience policies (or those closely related to resilience) in Kenya, Malawi and Ghana for how they approach resilience, both conceptually and (if applicable) in terms of how to improve or strengthen resilience (and for whom and within what types of contexts) 2) Synthesize the findings of case studies (the SRPs) conducted in each of these three countries with the aim of identifying gaps in national-level resilience policies, particularly as they pertain to local knowledge systems and the social and political dimensions in which they are embedded, and 3) Based on our synthesis, provide recommendations for how national-level resilience policies can integrate and learn from plural knowledge systems and experiences, which we characterize as culturally-situated, place-based and embedded within power relations and knowledge politics. It is possible that there will be a need for conducting additional interviews with stakeholders. We will synthesize findings from SRPs which conducted qualitative interviews with stakeholders, so understanding stakeholder perspectives is the main focus of the paper (vis-à-vis national-level policy documents). |
| Collaborator Contribution | This synthesis paper depends on relevant data from SRPs. Matt Kandel (beginning the week of the 15th of February) will begin holding meetings with SRP leads to understand the data they have collected. Ideally, SRPs from all three countries (Malawi, Kenya and Ghana) will be represented. Assessing availability of relevant data is currently a key focus and this assessment builds on the findings from a consultant's report (completed in December 2020). |
| Impact | None |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP 2 | Resilience |
| Organisation | University of Southampton |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | National-level resilience policies tend to overlook the social, political, and local-level contextual dimensions of resilience, instead grounding resilience within conventional scientific framings. However, research demonstrates that failing to grapple with plural knowledge systems and experiences-which are embedded in sociopolitical and local-level contexts and practices-will likely lead to resilience strategies that are unsuccessful and disempower the very communities they are ostensibly seeking to support. Provisionally, the paper's objectives are as follows: 1) Analyze national-level resilience policies (or those closely related to resilience) in Kenya, Malawi and Ghana for how they approach resilience, both conceptually and (if applicable) in terms of how to improve or strengthen resilience (and for whom and within what types of contexts) 2) Synthesize the findings of case studies (the SRPs) conducted in each of these three countries with the aim of identifying gaps in national-level resilience policies, particularly as they pertain to local knowledge systems and the social and political dimensions in which they are embedded, and 3) Based on our synthesis, provide recommendations for how national-level resilience policies can integrate and learn from plural knowledge systems and experiences, which we characterize as culturally-situated, place-based and embedded within power relations and knowledge politics. It is possible that there will be a need for conducting additional interviews with stakeholders. We will synthesize findings from SRPs which conducted qualitative interviews with stakeholders, so understanding stakeholder perspectives is the main focus of the paper (vis-à-vis national-level policy documents). |
| Collaborator Contribution | This synthesis paper depends on relevant data from SRPs. Matt Kandel (beginning the week of the 15th of February) will begin holding meetings with SRP leads to understand the data they have collected. Ideally, SRPs from all three countries (Malawi, Kenya and Ghana) will be represented. Assessing availability of relevant data is currently a key focus and this assessment builds on the findings from a consultant's report (completed in December 2020). |
| Impact | None |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP 4 | Crop Modelling | Maize yield gaps in smallholder farming systems of sub-Saharan Africa |
| Organisation | AGRHYMET Regional Centre (ARC) |
| Country | Global |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Currently smallholder systems achieve extremely low maize yields and there is scope to increase production towards the yield potential thus closing the so-called yield gap. The absence of crop productivity data, poor understanding of drivers affecting crop productivity and spatial and temporal heterogeneity of agricultural landscapes is a serious constraint to understanding the main causes of the productivity gaps. Our research project aims to develop a model for accurately estimating crop yield gaps in smallholder farming systems of Malawi and Kenya at fine spatial scale and to understand the most common drivers of productivity gap in different socio-economic and biophysical environment contexts. To achieve the above aims, we combine numerical models (crop and hydrological models), data assimilation techniques, and qualitative approaches informed by ground and remote-sensing meteorological, environmental and socio-economic data. The AquaCrop model is used to estimate potential and actual yield. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This LRP is an extrapolation of Tendai's 'Calibration of crop growth models for maize in sub-Saharan Africa' SRP and incorporates a number of SRPs which will run in parallel, namely: • Crop yield modelling and application in agricultural meteorology (Levis Eneya - University of Malawi) • Assessing the contribution of soil properties to dry spell vulnerability and linking to food security (Ellasy Chimamba - University of Malawi) • Multi-model hydro analysis (Daniela - University of Southampton) • Changes in agricultural land use: monitoring, drivers and implications (Chengxiu - University of Southampton) |
| Impact | None |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | LRP 4 | Crop Modelling | Maize yield gaps in smallholder farming systems of sub-Saharan Africa |
| Organisation | Southern African Development Community |
| Department | Waternet |
| Country | Zimbabwe |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Currently smallholder systems achieve extremely low maize yields and there is scope to increase production towards the yield potential thus closing the so-called yield gap. The absence of crop productivity data, poor understanding of drivers affecting crop productivity and spatial and temporal heterogeneity of agricultural landscapes is a serious constraint to understanding the main causes of the productivity gaps. Our research project aims to develop a model for accurately estimating crop yield gaps in smallholder farming systems of Malawi and Kenya at fine spatial scale and to understand the most common drivers of productivity gap in different socio-economic and biophysical environment contexts. To achieve the above aims, we combine numerical models (crop and hydrological models), data assimilation techniques, and qualitative approaches informed by ground and remote-sensing meteorological, environmental and socio-economic data. The AquaCrop model is used to estimate potential and actual yield. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This LRP is an extrapolation of Tendai's 'Calibration of crop growth models for maize in sub-Saharan Africa' SRP and incorporates a number of SRPs which will run in parallel, namely: • Crop yield modelling and application in agricultural meteorology (Levis Eneya - University of Malawi) • Assessing the contribution of soil properties to dry spell vulnerability and linking to food security (Ellasy Chimamba - University of Malawi) • Multi-model hydro analysis (Daniela - University of Southampton) • Changes in agricultural land use: monitoring, drivers and implications (Chengxiu - University of Southampton) |
| Impact | None |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | LRP 4 | Crop Modelling | Maize yield gaps in smallholder farming systems of sub-Saharan Africa |
| Organisation | Technical University of Kenya |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Currently smallholder systems achieve extremely low maize yields and there is scope to increase production towards the yield potential thus closing the so-called yield gap. The absence of crop productivity data, poor understanding of drivers affecting crop productivity and spatial and temporal heterogeneity of agricultural landscapes is a serious constraint to understanding the main causes of the productivity gaps. Our research project aims to develop a model for accurately estimating crop yield gaps in smallholder farming systems of Malawi and Kenya at fine spatial scale and to understand the most common drivers of productivity gap in different socio-economic and biophysical environment contexts. To achieve the above aims, we combine numerical models (crop and hydrological models), data assimilation techniques, and qualitative approaches informed by ground and remote-sensing meteorological, environmental and socio-economic data. The AquaCrop model is used to estimate potential and actual yield. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This LRP is an extrapolation of Tendai's 'Calibration of crop growth models for maize in sub-Saharan Africa' SRP and incorporates a number of SRPs which will run in parallel, namely: • Crop yield modelling and application in agricultural meteorology (Levis Eneya - University of Malawi) • Assessing the contribution of soil properties to dry spell vulnerability and linking to food security (Ellasy Chimamba - University of Malawi) • Multi-model hydro analysis (Daniela - University of Southampton) • Changes in agricultural land use: monitoring, drivers and implications (Chengxiu - University of Southampton) |
| Impact | None |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | LRP 4 | Crop Modelling | Maize yield gaps in smallholder farming systems of sub-Saharan Africa |
| Organisation | University of Malawi |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Currently smallholder systems achieve extremely low maize yields and there is scope to increase production towards the yield potential thus closing the so-called yield gap. The absence of crop productivity data, poor understanding of drivers affecting crop productivity and spatial and temporal heterogeneity of agricultural landscapes is a serious constraint to understanding the main causes of the productivity gaps. Our research project aims to develop a model for accurately estimating crop yield gaps in smallholder farming systems of Malawi and Kenya at fine spatial scale and to understand the most common drivers of productivity gap in different socio-economic and biophysical environment contexts. To achieve the above aims, we combine numerical models (crop and hydrological models), data assimilation techniques, and qualitative approaches informed by ground and remote-sensing meteorological, environmental and socio-economic data. The AquaCrop model is used to estimate potential and actual yield. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This LRP is an extrapolation of Tendai's 'Calibration of crop growth models for maize in sub-Saharan Africa' SRP and incorporates a number of SRPs which will run in parallel, namely: • Crop yield modelling and application in agricultural meteorology (Levis Eneya - University of Malawi) • Assessing the contribution of soil properties to dry spell vulnerability and linking to food security (Ellasy Chimamba - University of Malawi) • Multi-model hydro analysis (Daniela - University of Southampton) • Changes in agricultural land use: monitoring, drivers and implications (Chengxiu - University of Southampton) |
| Impact | None |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | LRP 4 | Crop Modelling | Maize yield gaps in smallholder farming systems of sub-Saharan Africa |
| Organisation | University of Nairobi |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Currently smallholder systems achieve extremely low maize yields and there is scope to increase production towards the yield potential thus closing the so-called yield gap. The absence of crop productivity data, poor understanding of drivers affecting crop productivity and spatial and temporal heterogeneity of agricultural landscapes is a serious constraint to understanding the main causes of the productivity gaps. Our research project aims to develop a model for accurately estimating crop yield gaps in smallholder farming systems of Malawi and Kenya at fine spatial scale and to understand the most common drivers of productivity gap in different socio-economic and biophysical environment contexts. To achieve the above aims, we combine numerical models (crop and hydrological models), data assimilation techniques, and qualitative approaches informed by ground and remote-sensing meteorological, environmental and socio-economic data. The AquaCrop model is used to estimate potential and actual yield. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This LRP is an extrapolation of Tendai's 'Calibration of crop growth models for maize in sub-Saharan Africa' SRP and incorporates a number of SRPs which will run in parallel, namely: • Crop yield modelling and application in agricultural meteorology (Levis Eneya - University of Malawi) • Assessing the contribution of soil properties to dry spell vulnerability and linking to food security (Ellasy Chimamba - University of Malawi) • Multi-model hydro analysis (Daniela - University of Southampton) • Changes in agricultural land use: monitoring, drivers and implications (Chengxiu - University of Southampton) |
| Impact | None |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | LRP 4 | Crop Modelling | Maize yield gaps in smallholder farming systems of sub-Saharan Africa |
| Organisation | University of Southampton |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Currently smallholder systems achieve extremely low maize yields and there is scope to increase production towards the yield potential thus closing the so-called yield gap. The absence of crop productivity data, poor understanding of drivers affecting crop productivity and spatial and temporal heterogeneity of agricultural landscapes is a serious constraint to understanding the main causes of the productivity gaps. Our research project aims to develop a model for accurately estimating crop yield gaps in smallholder farming systems of Malawi and Kenya at fine spatial scale and to understand the most common drivers of productivity gap in different socio-economic and biophysical environment contexts. To achieve the above aims, we combine numerical models (crop and hydrological models), data assimilation techniques, and qualitative approaches informed by ground and remote-sensing meteorological, environmental and socio-economic data. The AquaCrop model is used to estimate potential and actual yield. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This LRP is an extrapolation of Tendai's 'Calibration of crop growth models for maize in sub-Saharan Africa' SRP and incorporates a number of SRPs which will run in parallel, namely: • Crop yield modelling and application in agricultural meteorology (Levis Eneya - University of Malawi) • Assessing the contribution of soil properties to dry spell vulnerability and linking to food security (Ellasy Chimamba - University of Malawi) • Multi-model hydro analysis (Daniela - University of Southampton) • Changes in agricultural land use: monitoring, drivers and implications (Chengxiu - University of Southampton) |
| Impact | None |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | LRP 5 | WEF Nexus | Agricultural land use conversion, dam-related flooding, and their landscape impacts on domestic water points: a water-energy-food nexus management challenge in Malawi and Ghana |
| Organisation | Southern African Development Community |
| Department | Waternet |
| Country | Zimbabwe |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Sub-Saharan Africa remains the world region facing the greatest challenges in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to eliminate hunger, safe and affordable access to drinking-water, and clean, affordable energy. Simultaneously, over the past three decades, the region has experienced rapid land cover change and agricultural conversion, population growth and associated domestic water demand, and expansion of hydropower infra-structure. These rapid landscape changes carry implications for attaining the SDGs and underline the need for innovative analytical approaches. The water, energy and food (WEF) nexus approach recognises that addressing these complex challenges requires cross-sectoral analyses at multiple scales. Building on such an approach, we combine a national-level spatial analysis with case studies in Malawi and Ghana to address two questions: 1) How does agricultural land use conversion impact the governance and safety of domestic water points? 2) What is the impact of dam-related flood regime modification on downstream domestic water points, particularly with respect to household water security? |
| Collaborator Contribution | The key output from this LRP is a synthesis paper, bringing together findings from several SRPs (the Bagre Dam flooding SRP in Ghana; Cathy Kerapetse's SRP in Malawi, and Chengxiu's SRP) but also additional inputs of modelling water points from Weiyu (Terry) Yu, a visiting researcher at Southampton. We plan to combine the SRPs via an overarching secondary data analysis in Ghana and Malawi, which will look at the overlap between the spatial distribution of domestic water points versus land conversion to agriculture and flood extent downstream of major dams. Alongside this nationwide spatial analysis, we aim to explore the management and governance issues arising from water point exposure to dam-mediated flooding and proximity to agriculture and report on findings from fieldwork in two case study sites. The first of these concerns water points in Talensi and Savelugu Nanton districts, Ghana, subject to annual flooding mediated by the overspill of the multi-purpose Bagre Dam. The second case study examines the links between surface water collection points and agricultural land cover classes in Zomba district, Malawi. |
| Impact | none |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP 5 | WEF Nexus | Agricultural land use conversion, dam-related flooding, and their landscape impacts on domestic water points: a water-energy-food nexus management challenge in Malawi and Ghana |
| Organisation | University of Ghana |
| Country | Ghana |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Sub-Saharan Africa remains the world region facing the greatest challenges in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to eliminate hunger, safe and affordable access to drinking-water, and clean, affordable energy. Simultaneously, over the past three decades, the region has experienced rapid land cover change and agricultural conversion, population growth and associated domestic water demand, and expansion of hydropower infra-structure. These rapid landscape changes carry implications for attaining the SDGs and underline the need for innovative analytical approaches. The water, energy and food (WEF) nexus approach recognises that addressing these complex challenges requires cross-sectoral analyses at multiple scales. Building on such an approach, we combine a national-level spatial analysis with case studies in Malawi and Ghana to address two questions: 1) How does agricultural land use conversion impact the governance and safety of domestic water points? 2) What is the impact of dam-related flood regime modification on downstream domestic water points, particularly with respect to household water security? |
| Collaborator Contribution | The key output from this LRP is a synthesis paper, bringing together findings from several SRPs (the Bagre Dam flooding SRP in Ghana; Cathy Kerapetse's SRP in Malawi, and Chengxiu's SRP) but also additional inputs of modelling water points from Weiyu (Terry) Yu, a visiting researcher at Southampton. We plan to combine the SRPs via an overarching secondary data analysis in Ghana and Malawi, which will look at the overlap between the spatial distribution of domestic water points versus land conversion to agriculture and flood extent downstream of major dams. Alongside this nationwide spatial analysis, we aim to explore the management and governance issues arising from water point exposure to dam-mediated flooding and proximity to agriculture and report on findings from fieldwork in two case study sites. The first of these concerns water points in Talensi and Savelugu Nanton districts, Ghana, subject to annual flooding mediated by the overspill of the multi-purpose Bagre Dam. The second case study examines the links between surface water collection points and agricultural land cover classes in Zomba district, Malawi. |
| Impact | none |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP 5 | WEF Nexus | Agricultural land use conversion, dam-related flooding, and their landscape impacts on domestic water points: a water-energy-food nexus management challenge in Malawi and Ghana |
| Organisation | University of Southampton |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Sub-Saharan Africa remains the world region facing the greatest challenges in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to eliminate hunger, safe and affordable access to drinking-water, and clean, affordable energy. Simultaneously, over the past three decades, the region has experienced rapid land cover change and agricultural conversion, population growth and associated domestic water demand, and expansion of hydropower infra-structure. These rapid landscape changes carry implications for attaining the SDGs and underline the need for innovative analytical approaches. The water, energy and food (WEF) nexus approach recognises that addressing these complex challenges requires cross-sectoral analyses at multiple scales. Building on such an approach, we combine a national-level spatial analysis with case studies in Malawi and Ghana to address two questions: 1) How does agricultural land use conversion impact the governance and safety of domestic water points? 2) What is the impact of dam-related flood regime modification on downstream domestic water points, particularly with respect to household water security? |
| Collaborator Contribution | The key output from this LRP is a synthesis paper, bringing together findings from several SRPs (the Bagre Dam flooding SRP in Ghana; Cathy Kerapetse's SRP in Malawi, and Chengxiu's SRP) but also additional inputs of modelling water points from Weiyu (Terry) Yu, a visiting researcher at Southampton. We plan to combine the SRPs via an overarching secondary data analysis in Ghana and Malawi, which will look at the overlap between the spatial distribution of domestic water points versus land conversion to agriculture and flood extent downstream of major dams. Alongside this nationwide spatial analysis, we aim to explore the management and governance issues arising from water point exposure to dam-mediated flooding and proximity to agriculture and report on findings from fieldwork in two case study sites. The first of these concerns water points in Talensi and Savelugu Nanton districts, Ghana, subject to annual flooding mediated by the overspill of the multi-purpose Bagre Dam. The second case study examines the links between surface water collection points and agricultural land cover classes in Zomba district, Malawi. |
| Impact | none |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP 6 | Invasive Species | Understanding spatial characteristics, socio-economic effects and opportunities of Prosopis Juliflora and other invasive plant species in drylands of sub-Saharan Africa |
| Organisation | Kenyatta University |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Biological invasions from exotic plants is a major threat to plant biodiversity and water availability in the drylands of Africa. In particular, invasive plant species contribute to a decline of water, land and rangeland resources in the sensitive ecosystems, aggravating water, food and livelihood insecurity. In East and West African drylands, the most deleterious invasive plant species include Prosopis juliflora, Opuntia indica (Prickly pear), Senna spectabilis (Cassia) and Caesalpinia decapatala (Mauritius thorn) (Obiri, 2011). Limiting the impact of exotic plant species in the drylands requires an understanding of their distribution patterns and dynamics of their propagation in the respective landscapes. Moreover, understanding the medium and long term effects of various policy initiatives and mitigation strategies that have been put in place in various countries to address the threat of invasive species is a current concern. This research aims at understanding the distribution patterns, historical socio-economic and policy perspectives, and vulnerability and potential futures associated with the invasive species in the drylands of Africa. This research project is being implemented in the Ghana, Kenya and Malawi and brings together researchers from the BRECcIA participating institutions from UK (University of Southampton), Ghana (University of Ghana), Kenya (Kenyatta University, MMUST, TUK and University of Nairobi) and Malawi (LEAD-SEA). Additional stakeholders from the participating countries are included in the co-design and co-implementation of the project. These include stakeholders from the network of Counties in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) in Kenya and from National Herbarium & Botanical Gardens of Malawi. Stakeholder participation is achieved through stakeholder engagement workshops at the national level and also through co-implementation of project activities in study sites where the stakeholders live and work. The overall objectives of this research project include the following: i. To determine the spatial-temporal distribution of Prosopis juliflora in the drylands of Kenya, Malawi and Ghana. ii. To determine the bioclimatic and social-economic factors that promote the proliferation of Prosopis juliflora. iii. To establish the socio-economic and ecological effects of Prosopis juliflora in the drylands. iv. To ascertain policies that enhance spread and control of invasive species in African drylands. v. To develop a framework for strategic planning and scenario development allowing stakeholders to have visions of plausible futures and prioritize interventions for the management of alien invasive vegetation species. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This research project borrows mainly from the SRP on understanding the distribution patterns and the use characteristics of prosopis juliflora in Turkana County of Kenya. Specifically the methods from the SRP will be improved and adopted for understanding the distribution patterns of additional invasive species across different countries. In addition, modern robust mapping techniques including drone mapping and machine learning will be incorporated for accurate invasive species mapping across scales. In addition, the research borrows from the SRP on land use change dynamics in West Pokot county in Kenya and will particularly attempt to link the changes in invasive species coverage to governance options. |
| Impact | none |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP 6 | Invasive Species | Understanding spatial characteristics, socio-economic effects and opportunities of Prosopis Juliflora and other invasive plant species in drylands of sub-Saharan Africa |
| Organisation | Leadership for Environment and Development Southern and Eastern Africa |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Biological invasions from exotic plants is a major threat to plant biodiversity and water availability in the drylands of Africa. In particular, invasive plant species contribute to a decline of water, land and rangeland resources in the sensitive ecosystems, aggravating water, food and livelihood insecurity. In East and West African drylands, the most deleterious invasive plant species include Prosopis juliflora, Opuntia indica (Prickly pear), Senna spectabilis (Cassia) and Caesalpinia decapatala (Mauritius thorn) (Obiri, 2011). Limiting the impact of exotic plant species in the drylands requires an understanding of their distribution patterns and dynamics of their propagation in the respective landscapes. Moreover, understanding the medium and long term effects of various policy initiatives and mitigation strategies that have been put in place in various countries to address the threat of invasive species is a current concern. This research aims at understanding the distribution patterns, historical socio-economic and policy perspectives, and vulnerability and potential futures associated with the invasive species in the drylands of Africa. This research project is being implemented in the Ghana, Kenya and Malawi and brings together researchers from the BRECcIA participating institutions from UK (University of Southampton), Ghana (University of Ghana), Kenya (Kenyatta University, MMUST, TUK and University of Nairobi) and Malawi (LEAD-SEA). Additional stakeholders from the participating countries are included in the co-design and co-implementation of the project. These include stakeholders from the network of Counties in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) in Kenya and from National Herbarium & Botanical Gardens of Malawi. Stakeholder participation is achieved through stakeholder engagement workshops at the national level and also through co-implementation of project activities in study sites where the stakeholders live and work. The overall objectives of this research project include the following: i. To determine the spatial-temporal distribution of Prosopis juliflora in the drylands of Kenya, Malawi and Ghana. ii. To determine the bioclimatic and social-economic factors that promote the proliferation of Prosopis juliflora. iii. To establish the socio-economic and ecological effects of Prosopis juliflora in the drylands. iv. To ascertain policies that enhance spread and control of invasive species in African drylands. v. To develop a framework for strategic planning and scenario development allowing stakeholders to have visions of plausible futures and prioritize interventions for the management of alien invasive vegetation species. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This research project borrows mainly from the SRP on understanding the distribution patterns and the use characteristics of prosopis juliflora in Turkana County of Kenya. Specifically the methods from the SRP will be improved and adopted for understanding the distribution patterns of additional invasive species across different countries. In addition, modern robust mapping techniques including drone mapping and machine learning will be incorporated for accurate invasive species mapping across scales. In addition, the research borrows from the SRP on land use change dynamics in West Pokot county in Kenya and will particularly attempt to link the changes in invasive species coverage to governance options. |
| Impact | none |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP 6 | Invasive Species | Understanding spatial characteristics, socio-economic effects and opportunities of Prosopis Juliflora and other invasive plant species in drylands of sub-Saharan Africa |
| Organisation | Technical University of Kenya |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Biological invasions from exotic plants is a major threat to plant biodiversity and water availability in the drylands of Africa. In particular, invasive plant species contribute to a decline of water, land and rangeland resources in the sensitive ecosystems, aggravating water, food and livelihood insecurity. In East and West African drylands, the most deleterious invasive plant species include Prosopis juliflora, Opuntia indica (Prickly pear), Senna spectabilis (Cassia) and Caesalpinia decapatala (Mauritius thorn) (Obiri, 2011). Limiting the impact of exotic plant species in the drylands requires an understanding of their distribution patterns and dynamics of their propagation in the respective landscapes. Moreover, understanding the medium and long term effects of various policy initiatives and mitigation strategies that have been put in place in various countries to address the threat of invasive species is a current concern. This research aims at understanding the distribution patterns, historical socio-economic and policy perspectives, and vulnerability and potential futures associated with the invasive species in the drylands of Africa. This research project is being implemented in the Ghana, Kenya and Malawi and brings together researchers from the BRECcIA participating institutions from UK (University of Southampton), Ghana (University of Ghana), Kenya (Kenyatta University, MMUST, TUK and University of Nairobi) and Malawi (LEAD-SEA). Additional stakeholders from the participating countries are included in the co-design and co-implementation of the project. These include stakeholders from the network of Counties in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) in Kenya and from National Herbarium & Botanical Gardens of Malawi. Stakeholder participation is achieved through stakeholder engagement workshops at the national level and also through co-implementation of project activities in study sites where the stakeholders live and work. The overall objectives of this research project include the following: i. To determine the spatial-temporal distribution of Prosopis juliflora in the drylands of Kenya, Malawi and Ghana. ii. To determine the bioclimatic and social-economic factors that promote the proliferation of Prosopis juliflora. iii. To establish the socio-economic and ecological effects of Prosopis juliflora in the drylands. iv. To ascertain policies that enhance spread and control of invasive species in African drylands. v. To develop a framework for strategic planning and scenario development allowing stakeholders to have visions of plausible futures and prioritize interventions for the management of alien invasive vegetation species. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This research project borrows mainly from the SRP on understanding the distribution patterns and the use characteristics of prosopis juliflora in Turkana County of Kenya. Specifically the methods from the SRP will be improved and adopted for understanding the distribution patterns of additional invasive species across different countries. In addition, modern robust mapping techniques including drone mapping and machine learning will be incorporated for accurate invasive species mapping across scales. In addition, the research borrows from the SRP on land use change dynamics in West Pokot county in Kenya and will particularly attempt to link the changes in invasive species coverage to governance options. |
| Impact | none |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP 6 | Invasive Species | Understanding spatial characteristics, socio-economic effects and opportunities of Prosopis Juliflora and other invasive plant species in drylands of sub-Saharan Africa |
| Organisation | University of Ghana |
| Country | Ghana |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Biological invasions from exotic plants is a major threat to plant biodiversity and water availability in the drylands of Africa. In particular, invasive plant species contribute to a decline of water, land and rangeland resources in the sensitive ecosystems, aggravating water, food and livelihood insecurity. In East and West African drylands, the most deleterious invasive plant species include Prosopis juliflora, Opuntia indica (Prickly pear), Senna spectabilis (Cassia) and Caesalpinia decapatala (Mauritius thorn) (Obiri, 2011). Limiting the impact of exotic plant species in the drylands requires an understanding of their distribution patterns and dynamics of their propagation in the respective landscapes. Moreover, understanding the medium and long term effects of various policy initiatives and mitigation strategies that have been put in place in various countries to address the threat of invasive species is a current concern. This research aims at understanding the distribution patterns, historical socio-economic and policy perspectives, and vulnerability and potential futures associated with the invasive species in the drylands of Africa. This research project is being implemented in the Ghana, Kenya and Malawi and brings together researchers from the BRECcIA participating institutions from UK (University of Southampton), Ghana (University of Ghana), Kenya (Kenyatta University, MMUST, TUK and University of Nairobi) and Malawi (LEAD-SEA). Additional stakeholders from the participating countries are included in the co-design and co-implementation of the project. These include stakeholders from the network of Counties in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) in Kenya and from National Herbarium & Botanical Gardens of Malawi. Stakeholder participation is achieved through stakeholder engagement workshops at the national level and also through co-implementation of project activities in study sites where the stakeholders live and work. The overall objectives of this research project include the following: i. To determine the spatial-temporal distribution of Prosopis juliflora in the drylands of Kenya, Malawi and Ghana. ii. To determine the bioclimatic and social-economic factors that promote the proliferation of Prosopis juliflora. iii. To establish the socio-economic and ecological effects of Prosopis juliflora in the drylands. iv. To ascertain policies that enhance spread and control of invasive species in African drylands. v. To develop a framework for strategic planning and scenario development allowing stakeholders to have visions of plausible futures and prioritize interventions for the management of alien invasive vegetation species. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This research project borrows mainly from the SRP on understanding the distribution patterns and the use characteristics of prosopis juliflora in Turkana County of Kenya. Specifically the methods from the SRP will be improved and adopted for understanding the distribution patterns of additional invasive species across different countries. In addition, modern robust mapping techniques including drone mapping and machine learning will be incorporated for accurate invasive species mapping across scales. In addition, the research borrows from the SRP on land use change dynamics in West Pokot county in Kenya and will particularly attempt to link the changes in invasive species coverage to governance options. |
| Impact | none |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP 6 | Invasive Species | Understanding spatial characteristics, socio-economic effects and opportunities of Prosopis Juliflora and other invasive plant species in drylands of sub-Saharan Africa |
| Organisation | University of Malawi |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Biological invasions from exotic plants is a major threat to plant biodiversity and water availability in the drylands of Africa. In particular, invasive plant species contribute to a decline of water, land and rangeland resources in the sensitive ecosystems, aggravating water, food and livelihood insecurity. In East and West African drylands, the most deleterious invasive plant species include Prosopis juliflora, Opuntia indica (Prickly pear), Senna spectabilis (Cassia) and Caesalpinia decapatala (Mauritius thorn) (Obiri, 2011). Limiting the impact of exotic plant species in the drylands requires an understanding of their distribution patterns and dynamics of their propagation in the respective landscapes. Moreover, understanding the medium and long term effects of various policy initiatives and mitigation strategies that have been put in place in various countries to address the threat of invasive species is a current concern. This research aims at understanding the distribution patterns, historical socio-economic and policy perspectives, and vulnerability and potential futures associated with the invasive species in the drylands of Africa. This research project is being implemented in the Ghana, Kenya and Malawi and brings together researchers from the BRECcIA participating institutions from UK (University of Southampton), Ghana (University of Ghana), Kenya (Kenyatta University, MMUST, TUK and University of Nairobi) and Malawi (LEAD-SEA). Additional stakeholders from the participating countries are included in the co-design and co-implementation of the project. These include stakeholders from the network of Counties in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) in Kenya and from National Herbarium & Botanical Gardens of Malawi. Stakeholder participation is achieved through stakeholder engagement workshops at the national level and also through co-implementation of project activities in study sites where the stakeholders live and work. The overall objectives of this research project include the following: i. To determine the spatial-temporal distribution of Prosopis juliflora in the drylands of Kenya, Malawi and Ghana. ii. To determine the bioclimatic and social-economic factors that promote the proliferation of Prosopis juliflora. iii. To establish the socio-economic and ecological effects of Prosopis juliflora in the drylands. iv. To ascertain policies that enhance spread and control of invasive species in African drylands. v. To develop a framework for strategic planning and scenario development allowing stakeholders to have visions of plausible futures and prioritize interventions for the management of alien invasive vegetation species. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This research project borrows mainly from the SRP on understanding the distribution patterns and the use characteristics of prosopis juliflora in Turkana County of Kenya. Specifically the methods from the SRP will be improved and adopted for understanding the distribution patterns of additional invasive species across different countries. In addition, modern robust mapping techniques including drone mapping and machine learning will be incorporated for accurate invasive species mapping across scales. In addition, the research borrows from the SRP on land use change dynamics in West Pokot county in Kenya and will particularly attempt to link the changes in invasive species coverage to governance options. |
| Impact | none |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP 7 | Food Beliefs |Climate Change, Beliefs and Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Food Security in Drylands of Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Organisation | Technical University of Kenya |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This large research project adopts a gendered approach to understanding the significant roles played by traditional belief and indigenous knowledge systems in attaining food security in drylands of sub-Saharan Africa. There is a paucity of research on this subject as traditional beliefs and indigenous knowledge systems, however ecologically sustainable, tend to be regarded as primitive and inferior to modern sophisticated technological systems. Besides, gender is acknowledged as a critical determinant of population wellbeing, yet its impact on food security in the context of traditional systems is rarely explored. This large research project draws from the "Climate Change, Food Beliefs and Food Security in Dryland Areas of Northern Ghana" SRP. Following stakeholder (community-level) inputs from field work and previous engagement for the SRP "Analysis of gaps between policy-makers and community stakeholders in building climate change resilience in dry lands of Malawi: why do interventions fail?" the issue of cultural norms and food belief systems has become very important requiring further investigation. This LRP is a cross-country research targeted at filling a research gap related to the role of cultural norms and beliefs in ensuring food security. This is an up-scaled and comparative LRP targeted at the regional level with research to be undertaken in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi. Conceptualisation of this research emanated from early national and regional level stakeholder engagements in Accra and Tamale respectively in Ghana. Upscaling of this research has been necessitated by preliminary findings from other SRPs after engaging with community-level stakeholders in Malawi and Kenya. The specific aims of the study are to: i. Explore how traditional knowledge and belief systems affect the resilience of communities to ensure food security amidst climate change ii. Examine the pathways through which traditional knowledge and belief systems are modified to ensure food security in the face of climate change iii. Identify how traditional knowledge and belief systems affect the food security of different genders and vulnerable groups amidst climate change using an intersectionality approach |
| Collaborator Contribution | This large research project draws from the "Climate Change, Food Beliefs and Food Security in Dryland Areas of Northern Ghana" SRP. Following emerging themes and preliminary findings based on stakeholder (community-level) inputs from field work and previous engagement for the "Analysis of gaps between policy-makers and community stakeholders in building climate change resilience in dry lands of Malawi: why do interventions fail?" SRP and the "Analysis of the contributing factors to food insecurity and the coping strategies amongst rural communities in the arid regions of Marsabit, Kenya" SRP, the issue of cultural norms and food belief systems has become very important requiring further investigation. |
| Impact | none |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP 7 | Food Beliefs |Climate Change, Beliefs and Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Food Security in Drylands of Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Organisation | University of Ghana |
| Country | Ghana |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This large research project adopts a gendered approach to understanding the significant roles played by traditional belief and indigenous knowledge systems in attaining food security in drylands of sub-Saharan Africa. There is a paucity of research on this subject as traditional beliefs and indigenous knowledge systems, however ecologically sustainable, tend to be regarded as primitive and inferior to modern sophisticated technological systems. Besides, gender is acknowledged as a critical determinant of population wellbeing, yet its impact on food security in the context of traditional systems is rarely explored. This large research project draws from the "Climate Change, Food Beliefs and Food Security in Dryland Areas of Northern Ghana" SRP. Following stakeholder (community-level) inputs from field work and previous engagement for the SRP "Analysis of gaps between policy-makers and community stakeholders in building climate change resilience in dry lands of Malawi: why do interventions fail?" the issue of cultural norms and food belief systems has become very important requiring further investigation. This LRP is a cross-country research targeted at filling a research gap related to the role of cultural norms and beliefs in ensuring food security. This is an up-scaled and comparative LRP targeted at the regional level with research to be undertaken in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi. Conceptualisation of this research emanated from early national and regional level stakeholder engagements in Accra and Tamale respectively in Ghana. Upscaling of this research has been necessitated by preliminary findings from other SRPs after engaging with community-level stakeholders in Malawi and Kenya. The specific aims of the study are to: i. Explore how traditional knowledge and belief systems affect the resilience of communities to ensure food security amidst climate change ii. Examine the pathways through which traditional knowledge and belief systems are modified to ensure food security in the face of climate change iii. Identify how traditional knowledge and belief systems affect the food security of different genders and vulnerable groups amidst climate change using an intersectionality approach |
| Collaborator Contribution | This large research project draws from the "Climate Change, Food Beliefs and Food Security in Dryland Areas of Northern Ghana" SRP. Following emerging themes and preliminary findings based on stakeholder (community-level) inputs from field work and previous engagement for the "Analysis of gaps between policy-makers and community stakeholders in building climate change resilience in dry lands of Malawi: why do interventions fail?" SRP and the "Analysis of the contributing factors to food insecurity and the coping strategies amongst rural communities in the arid regions of Marsabit, Kenya" SRP, the issue of cultural norms and food belief systems has become very important requiring further investigation. |
| Impact | none |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP 7 | Food Beliefs |Climate Change, Beliefs and Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Food Security in Drylands of Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Organisation | University of Malawi |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This large research project adopts a gendered approach to understanding the significant roles played by traditional belief and indigenous knowledge systems in attaining food security in drylands of sub-Saharan Africa. There is a paucity of research on this subject as traditional beliefs and indigenous knowledge systems, however ecologically sustainable, tend to be regarded as primitive and inferior to modern sophisticated technological systems. Besides, gender is acknowledged as a critical determinant of population wellbeing, yet its impact on food security in the context of traditional systems is rarely explored. This large research project draws from the "Climate Change, Food Beliefs and Food Security in Dryland Areas of Northern Ghana" SRP. Following stakeholder (community-level) inputs from field work and previous engagement for the SRP "Analysis of gaps between policy-makers and community stakeholders in building climate change resilience in dry lands of Malawi: why do interventions fail?" the issue of cultural norms and food belief systems has become very important requiring further investigation. This LRP is a cross-country research targeted at filling a research gap related to the role of cultural norms and beliefs in ensuring food security. This is an up-scaled and comparative LRP targeted at the regional level with research to be undertaken in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi. Conceptualisation of this research emanated from early national and regional level stakeholder engagements in Accra and Tamale respectively in Ghana. Upscaling of this research has been necessitated by preliminary findings from other SRPs after engaging with community-level stakeholders in Malawi and Kenya. The specific aims of the study are to: i. Explore how traditional knowledge and belief systems affect the resilience of communities to ensure food security amidst climate change ii. Examine the pathways through which traditional knowledge and belief systems are modified to ensure food security in the face of climate change iii. Identify how traditional knowledge and belief systems affect the food security of different genders and vulnerable groups amidst climate change using an intersectionality approach |
| Collaborator Contribution | This large research project draws from the "Climate Change, Food Beliefs and Food Security in Dryland Areas of Northern Ghana" SRP. Following emerging themes and preliminary findings based on stakeholder (community-level) inputs from field work and previous engagement for the "Analysis of gaps between policy-makers and community stakeholders in building climate change resilience in dry lands of Malawi: why do interventions fail?" SRP and the "Analysis of the contributing factors to food insecurity and the coping strategies amongst rural communities in the arid regions of Marsabit, Kenya" SRP, the issue of cultural norms and food belief systems has become very important requiring further investigation. |
| Impact | none |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP 7 | Food Beliefs |Climate Change, Beliefs and Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Food Security in Drylands of Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Organisation | University of Nairobi |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This large research project adopts a gendered approach to understanding the significant roles played by traditional belief and indigenous knowledge systems in attaining food security in drylands of sub-Saharan Africa. There is a paucity of research on this subject as traditional beliefs and indigenous knowledge systems, however ecologically sustainable, tend to be regarded as primitive and inferior to modern sophisticated technological systems. Besides, gender is acknowledged as a critical determinant of population wellbeing, yet its impact on food security in the context of traditional systems is rarely explored. This large research project draws from the "Climate Change, Food Beliefs and Food Security in Dryland Areas of Northern Ghana" SRP. Following stakeholder (community-level) inputs from field work and previous engagement for the SRP "Analysis of gaps between policy-makers and community stakeholders in building climate change resilience in dry lands of Malawi: why do interventions fail?" the issue of cultural norms and food belief systems has become very important requiring further investigation. This LRP is a cross-country research targeted at filling a research gap related to the role of cultural norms and beliefs in ensuring food security. This is an up-scaled and comparative LRP targeted at the regional level with research to be undertaken in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi. Conceptualisation of this research emanated from early national and regional level stakeholder engagements in Accra and Tamale respectively in Ghana. Upscaling of this research has been necessitated by preliminary findings from other SRPs after engaging with community-level stakeholders in Malawi and Kenya. The specific aims of the study are to: i. Explore how traditional knowledge and belief systems affect the resilience of communities to ensure food security amidst climate change ii. Examine the pathways through which traditional knowledge and belief systems are modified to ensure food security in the face of climate change iii. Identify how traditional knowledge and belief systems affect the food security of different genders and vulnerable groups amidst climate change using an intersectionality approach |
| Collaborator Contribution | This large research project draws from the "Climate Change, Food Beliefs and Food Security in Dryland Areas of Northern Ghana" SRP. Following emerging themes and preliminary findings based on stakeholder (community-level) inputs from field work and previous engagement for the "Analysis of gaps between policy-makers and community stakeholders in building climate change resilience in dry lands of Malawi: why do interventions fail?" SRP and the "Analysis of the contributing factors to food insecurity and the coping strategies amongst rural communities in the arid regions of Marsabit, Kenya" SRP, the issue of cultural norms and food belief systems has become very important requiring further investigation. |
| Impact | none |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP 7 | Food Beliefs |Climate Change, Beliefs and Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Food Security in Drylands of Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Organisation | University of Southampton |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This large research project adopts a gendered approach to understanding the significant roles played by traditional belief and indigenous knowledge systems in attaining food security in drylands of sub-Saharan Africa. There is a paucity of research on this subject as traditional beliefs and indigenous knowledge systems, however ecologically sustainable, tend to be regarded as primitive and inferior to modern sophisticated technological systems. Besides, gender is acknowledged as a critical determinant of population wellbeing, yet its impact on food security in the context of traditional systems is rarely explored. This large research project draws from the "Climate Change, Food Beliefs and Food Security in Dryland Areas of Northern Ghana" SRP. Following stakeholder (community-level) inputs from field work and previous engagement for the SRP "Analysis of gaps between policy-makers and community stakeholders in building climate change resilience in dry lands of Malawi: why do interventions fail?" the issue of cultural norms and food belief systems has become very important requiring further investigation. This LRP is a cross-country research targeted at filling a research gap related to the role of cultural norms and beliefs in ensuring food security. This is an up-scaled and comparative LRP targeted at the regional level with research to be undertaken in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi. Conceptualisation of this research emanated from early national and regional level stakeholder engagements in Accra and Tamale respectively in Ghana. Upscaling of this research has been necessitated by preliminary findings from other SRPs after engaging with community-level stakeholders in Malawi and Kenya. The specific aims of the study are to: i. Explore how traditional knowledge and belief systems affect the resilience of communities to ensure food security amidst climate change ii. Examine the pathways through which traditional knowledge and belief systems are modified to ensure food security in the face of climate change iii. Identify how traditional knowledge and belief systems affect the food security of different genders and vulnerable groups amidst climate change using an intersectionality approach |
| Collaborator Contribution | This large research project draws from the "Climate Change, Food Beliefs and Food Security in Dryland Areas of Northern Ghana" SRP. Following emerging themes and preliminary findings based on stakeholder (community-level) inputs from field work and previous engagement for the "Analysis of gaps between policy-makers and community stakeholders in building climate change resilience in dry lands of Malawi: why do interventions fail?" SRP and the "Analysis of the contributing factors to food insecurity and the coping strategies amongst rural communities in the arid regions of Marsabit, Kenya" SRP, the issue of cultural norms and food belief systems has become very important requiring further investigation. |
| Impact | none |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP 8 | Valuing Variability |Climate Change, Beliefs and Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Food Security in Drylands of Sub-Saharan Africa (2020 - Still Active) |
| Organisation | International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | For this large research project (LRP), Kenyatta University (KU) in collaboration with the Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) are co-developing a drylands course, initially hosted at Kenyatta University, anchored on the concept of valuing variability with the broad aim of building capacity for sustainable food and water security as envisaged within the BRECcIA project. The course's objectives are to strengthen research capacity and capabilities of BRECcIA partner universities to design and implement impactful research that will support policy and practice for sustainable food and water security in the drylands of sub-Saharan Africa; and to institutionalise the capacity of BRECcIA partner universities to continue to deliver graduate and post-graduate training and research on the dynamics of food and water security in the drylands beyond the project's lifetime. The preparatory phase consisted of: reviews of existing dryland courses taught at universities in Kenya and County Integrated Development Plans for a selection of dryland counties in Kenya; design of an on-line market survey tool targeting key institutions in Kenya responsible for policy and practice on food and water security in the drylands to establish demand for the course; implementation of an inception and planning workshop inform the institutional framework for the design and delivery of the drylands course while meeting stakeholders' needs and the subsequent phases of the work. The ultimate outputs of this LRP consist of 1) an enhanced under-graduate Arid and Semi-Arid Lands curriculum integrating the concepts of valuing variability within Kenyatta University's Bachelor of Science programme taught by the Geography Department with the concepts of valuing variability also being integrated in masters courses related to integrated watershed management; 2) a short course targeting county and national government policy makers and planners delivered by the Directorate of Capacity Development and Consultancy Services at KU in collaboration with the Geography Department as well as other BRECcIA partners and stakeholders. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Three categories of actors will be involved in the co-generation of the two formats of the valuing variability course: 1) A core team composed of representatives from the Department of Geography and Directorate of Capacity Development and Consultancy Services at Kenyatta University supported by IIED. The core team will be responsible for the day-to-day management and delivery of activities. 2) BRECcIA partners. These consist of the other institutions directly involved in the BRECcIA programme in Kenya, Ghana, Malawi, UK and at regional level. BRECcIA partners will engage in the design of the valuing variability course at key strategic moments. 3) BRECcIA stakeholders. These refer to a wider group of institutions broadly responsible for and/or engaged in the design and delivery of policies to address food and water security in their respective countries that the BRECcIA programme is actively targeting through the outcomes and impacts of its work. In Kenya these institutions include national government ministries responsible for food and water security, county governments in Kenya's arid and semi-arid areas, members of the Arid and Semi-Arid Stakeholders Forum that includes donors and NGOs supporting food and water security in these areas. These stakeholders will be consulted at key moments in the design of the VV course. |
| Impact | The short course, delievered by CDCS was launched in March 2022: "Working with Environmental Variability for Enhanced Water and Food Security in the Drylands" http://cdcs.ku.ac.ke/drylands-course the Geography Department at Kenyatta University have augmented the syllabus of course units focusing on the drylands in two of their departments, namely the department of Geography and the school of Agriculture and Enterprise Development. In the former, the main course that focuses on drylands is titled Arid and Semi Arid lands (AGE 308). In the latter, there is a Bachelor and Masters degree offered in dryland agriculture and enterprise development. The course enhancement will include new topics to incorporate lessons from the Valuing Variability framework, with plans to extend this to other courses in the near future. The Geography Department at Kenyatta University, together with IIED and the KU's Capacity Development and Consultancy Services division (CDCS) have jointly developed a week long professional course aimed at current Kenyan dryland professionals and practitioners at both national and (especially) county levels. In addition to the evidence-based content (based around the Valuing Variability framework) the course uses an experiential learning pedagogy well suited to training professional adults. This course was piloted in Kitui in February 2022 with a wide range of relevant stakeholders; they have confirmed both their interest in the material and the relevance of course for their working lives. A stakeholder WhatsApp consultation forum has been very active subsequently in sharing information about the course and in encouraging cross-sectoral networking and collaboration. KU and IIED also worked together with the Adaptation Consortium and their partners to co-develop a participatory study to understand the functionality of water investments in the drylands for water and food security. This has led to the development of a joint ADA/BRECcIA working paper that will be soon published on the BRECcIA and ADA websites. The online drylands perceptions survey developed into a research study, capturing the perceptions of around 200 respondents from BRECcIA's dryland stakeholder network. Findings are being written up by IIED and KU for publication in a special issue of the African Journal of Range and Forage Science on 'African Pastoralism and Rangelands in the Context of Global Objectives' |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP 8 | Valuing Variability |Climate Change, Beliefs and Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Food Security in Drylands of Sub-Saharan Africa (2020 - Still Active) |
| Organisation | International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | For this large research project (LRP), Kenyatta University (KU) in collaboration with the Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) are co-developing a drylands course, initially hosted at Kenyatta University, anchored on the concept of valuing variability with the broad aim of building capacity for sustainable food and water security as envisaged within the BRECcIA project. The course's objectives are to strengthen research capacity and capabilities of BRECcIA partner universities to design and implement impactful research that will support policy and practice for sustainable food and water security in the drylands of sub-Saharan Africa; and to institutionalise the capacity of BRECcIA partner universities to continue to deliver graduate and post-graduate training and research on the dynamics of food and water security in the drylands beyond the project's lifetime. The preparatory phase consisted of: reviews of existing dryland courses taught at universities in Kenya and County Integrated Development Plans for a selection of dryland counties in Kenya; design of an on-line market survey tool targeting key institutions in Kenya responsible for policy and practice on food and water security in the drylands to establish demand for the course; implementation of an inception and planning workshop inform the institutional framework for the design and delivery of the drylands course while meeting stakeholders' needs and the subsequent phases of the work. The ultimate outputs of this LRP consist of 1) an enhanced under-graduate Arid and Semi-Arid Lands curriculum integrating the concepts of valuing variability within Kenyatta University's Bachelor of Science programme taught by the Geography Department with the concepts of valuing variability also being integrated in masters courses related to integrated watershed management; 2) a short course targeting county and national government policy makers and planners delivered by the Directorate of Capacity Development and Consultancy Services at KU in collaboration with the Geography Department as well as other BRECcIA partners and stakeholders. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Three categories of actors will be involved in the co-generation of the two formats of the valuing variability course: 1) A core team composed of representatives from the Department of Geography and Directorate of Capacity Development and Consultancy Services at Kenyatta University supported by IIED. The core team will be responsible for the day-to-day management and delivery of activities. 2) BRECcIA partners. These consist of the other institutions directly involved in the BRECcIA programme in Kenya, Ghana, Malawi, UK and at regional level. BRECcIA partners will engage in the design of the valuing variability course at key strategic moments. 3) BRECcIA stakeholders. These refer to a wider group of institutions broadly responsible for and/or engaged in the design and delivery of policies to address food and water security in their respective countries that the BRECcIA programme is actively targeting through the outcomes and impacts of its work. In Kenya these institutions include national government ministries responsible for food and water security, county governments in Kenya's arid and semi-arid areas, members of the Arid and Semi-Arid Stakeholders Forum that includes donors and NGOs supporting food and water security in these areas. These stakeholders will be consulted at key moments in the design of the VV course. |
| Impact | The short course, delievered by CDCS was launched in March 2022: "Working with Environmental Variability for Enhanced Water and Food Security in the Drylands" http://cdcs.ku.ac.ke/drylands-course the Geography Department at Kenyatta University have augmented the syllabus of course units focusing on the drylands in two of their departments, namely the department of Geography and the school of Agriculture and Enterprise Development. In the former, the main course that focuses on drylands is titled Arid and Semi Arid lands (AGE 308). In the latter, there is a Bachelor and Masters degree offered in dryland agriculture and enterprise development. The course enhancement will include new topics to incorporate lessons from the Valuing Variability framework, with plans to extend this to other courses in the near future. The Geography Department at Kenyatta University, together with IIED and the KU's Capacity Development and Consultancy Services division (CDCS) have jointly developed a week long professional course aimed at current Kenyan dryland professionals and practitioners at both national and (especially) county levels. In addition to the evidence-based content (based around the Valuing Variability framework) the course uses an experiential learning pedagogy well suited to training professional adults. This course was piloted in Kitui in February 2022 with a wide range of relevant stakeholders; they have confirmed both their interest in the material and the relevance of course for their working lives. A stakeholder WhatsApp consultation forum has been very active subsequently in sharing information about the course and in encouraging cross-sectoral networking and collaboration. KU and IIED also worked together with the Adaptation Consortium and their partners to co-develop a participatory study to understand the functionality of water investments in the drylands for water and food security. This has led to the development of a joint ADA/BRECcIA working paper that will be soon published on the BRECcIA and ADA websites. The online drylands perceptions survey developed into a research study, capturing the perceptions of around 200 respondents from BRECcIA's dryland stakeholder network. Findings are being written up by IIED and KU for publication in a special issue of the African Journal of Range and Forage Science on 'African Pastoralism and Rangelands in the Context of Global Objectives' |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP 8 | Valuing Variability |Climate Change, Beliefs and Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Food Security in Drylands of Sub-Saharan Africa (2020 - Still Active) |
| Organisation | Kenyatta University |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | For this large research project (LRP), Kenyatta University (KU) in collaboration with the Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) are co-developing a drylands course, initially hosted at Kenyatta University, anchored on the concept of valuing variability with the broad aim of building capacity for sustainable food and water security as envisaged within the BRECcIA project. The course's objectives are to strengthen research capacity and capabilities of BRECcIA partner universities to design and implement impactful research that will support policy and practice for sustainable food and water security in the drylands of sub-Saharan Africa; and to institutionalise the capacity of BRECcIA partner universities to continue to deliver graduate and post-graduate training and research on the dynamics of food and water security in the drylands beyond the project's lifetime. The preparatory phase consisted of: reviews of existing dryland courses taught at universities in Kenya and County Integrated Development Plans for a selection of dryland counties in Kenya; design of an on-line market survey tool targeting key institutions in Kenya responsible for policy and practice on food and water security in the drylands to establish demand for the course; implementation of an inception and planning workshop inform the institutional framework for the design and delivery of the drylands course while meeting stakeholders' needs and the subsequent phases of the work. The ultimate outputs of this LRP consist of 1) an enhanced under-graduate Arid and Semi-Arid Lands curriculum integrating the concepts of valuing variability within Kenyatta University's Bachelor of Science programme taught by the Geography Department with the concepts of valuing variability also being integrated in masters courses related to integrated watershed management; 2) a short course targeting county and national government policy makers and planners delivered by the Directorate of Capacity Development and Consultancy Services at KU in collaboration with the Geography Department as well as other BRECcIA partners and stakeholders. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Three categories of actors will be involved in the co-generation of the two formats of the valuing variability course: 1) A core team composed of representatives from the Department of Geography and Directorate of Capacity Development and Consultancy Services at Kenyatta University supported by IIED. The core team will be responsible for the day-to-day management and delivery of activities. 2) BRECcIA partners. These consist of the other institutions directly involved in the BRECcIA programme in Kenya, Ghana, Malawi, UK and at regional level. BRECcIA partners will engage in the design of the valuing variability course at key strategic moments. 3) BRECcIA stakeholders. These refer to a wider group of institutions broadly responsible for and/or engaged in the design and delivery of policies to address food and water security in their respective countries that the BRECcIA programme is actively targeting through the outcomes and impacts of its work. In Kenya these institutions include national government ministries responsible for food and water security, county governments in Kenya's arid and semi-arid areas, members of the Arid and Semi-Arid Stakeholders Forum that includes donors and NGOs supporting food and water security in these areas. These stakeholders will be consulted at key moments in the design of the VV course. |
| Impact | The short course, delievered by CDCS was launched in March 2022: "Working with Environmental Variability for Enhanced Water and Food Security in the Drylands" http://cdcs.ku.ac.ke/drylands-course the Geography Department at Kenyatta University have augmented the syllabus of course units focusing on the drylands in two of their departments, namely the department of Geography and the school of Agriculture and Enterprise Development. In the former, the main course that focuses on drylands is titled Arid and Semi Arid lands (AGE 308). In the latter, there is a Bachelor and Masters degree offered in dryland agriculture and enterprise development. The course enhancement will include new topics to incorporate lessons from the Valuing Variability framework, with plans to extend this to other courses in the near future. The Geography Department at Kenyatta University, together with IIED and the KU's Capacity Development and Consultancy Services division (CDCS) have jointly developed a week long professional course aimed at current Kenyan dryland professionals and practitioners at both national and (especially) county levels. In addition to the evidence-based content (based around the Valuing Variability framework) the course uses an experiential learning pedagogy well suited to training professional adults. This course was piloted in Kitui in February 2022 with a wide range of relevant stakeholders; they have confirmed both their interest in the material and the relevance of course for their working lives. A stakeholder WhatsApp consultation forum has been very active subsequently in sharing information about the course and in encouraging cross-sectoral networking and collaboration. KU and IIED also worked together with the Adaptation Consortium and their partners to co-develop a participatory study to understand the functionality of water investments in the drylands for water and food security. This has led to the development of a joint ADA/BRECcIA working paper that will be soon published on the BRECcIA and ADA websites. The online drylands perceptions survey developed into a research study, capturing the perceptions of around 200 respondents from BRECcIA's dryland stakeholder network. Findings are being written up by IIED and KU for publication in a special issue of the African Journal of Range and Forage Science on 'African Pastoralism and Rangelands in the Context of Global Objectives' |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP 8 | Valuing Variability |Climate Change, Beliefs and Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Food Security in Drylands of Sub-Saharan Africa (2020 - Still Active) |
| Organisation | Kenyatta University |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | For this large research project (LRP), Kenyatta University (KU) in collaboration with the Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) are co-developing a drylands course, initially hosted at Kenyatta University, anchored on the concept of valuing variability with the broad aim of building capacity for sustainable food and water security as envisaged within the BRECcIA project. The course's objectives are to strengthen research capacity and capabilities of BRECcIA partner universities to design and implement impactful research that will support policy and practice for sustainable food and water security in the drylands of sub-Saharan Africa; and to institutionalise the capacity of BRECcIA partner universities to continue to deliver graduate and post-graduate training and research on the dynamics of food and water security in the drylands beyond the project's lifetime. The preparatory phase consisted of: reviews of existing dryland courses taught at universities in Kenya and County Integrated Development Plans for a selection of dryland counties in Kenya; design of an on-line market survey tool targeting key institutions in Kenya responsible for policy and practice on food and water security in the drylands to establish demand for the course; implementation of an inception and planning workshop inform the institutional framework for the design and delivery of the drylands course while meeting stakeholders' needs and the subsequent phases of the work. The ultimate outputs of this LRP consist of 1) an enhanced under-graduate Arid and Semi-Arid Lands curriculum integrating the concepts of valuing variability within Kenyatta University's Bachelor of Science programme taught by the Geography Department with the concepts of valuing variability also being integrated in masters courses related to integrated watershed management; 2) a short course targeting county and national government policy makers and planners delivered by the Directorate of Capacity Development and Consultancy Services at KU in collaboration with the Geography Department as well as other BRECcIA partners and stakeholders. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Three categories of actors will be involved in the co-generation of the two formats of the valuing variability course: 1) A core team composed of representatives from the Department of Geography and Directorate of Capacity Development and Consultancy Services at Kenyatta University supported by IIED. The core team will be responsible for the day-to-day management and delivery of activities. 2) BRECcIA partners. These consist of the other institutions directly involved in the BRECcIA programme in Kenya, Ghana, Malawi, UK and at regional level. BRECcIA partners will engage in the design of the valuing variability course at key strategic moments. 3) BRECcIA stakeholders. These refer to a wider group of institutions broadly responsible for and/or engaged in the design and delivery of policies to address food and water security in their respective countries that the BRECcIA programme is actively targeting through the outcomes and impacts of its work. In Kenya these institutions include national government ministries responsible for food and water security, county governments in Kenya's arid and semi-arid areas, members of the Arid and Semi-Arid Stakeholders Forum that includes donors and NGOs supporting food and water security in these areas. These stakeholders will be consulted at key moments in the design of the VV course. |
| Impact | The short course, delievered by CDCS was launched in March 2022: "Working with Environmental Variability for Enhanced Water and Food Security in the Drylands" http://cdcs.ku.ac.ke/drylands-course the Geography Department at Kenyatta University have augmented the syllabus of course units focusing on the drylands in two of their departments, namely the department of Geography and the school of Agriculture and Enterprise Development. In the former, the main course that focuses on drylands is titled Arid and Semi Arid lands (AGE 308). In the latter, there is a Bachelor and Masters degree offered in dryland agriculture and enterprise development. The course enhancement will include new topics to incorporate lessons from the Valuing Variability framework, with plans to extend this to other courses in the near future. The Geography Department at Kenyatta University, together with IIED and the KU's Capacity Development and Consultancy Services division (CDCS) have jointly developed a week long professional course aimed at current Kenyan dryland professionals and practitioners at both national and (especially) county levels. In addition to the evidence-based content (based around the Valuing Variability framework) the course uses an experiential learning pedagogy well suited to training professional adults. This course was piloted in Kitui in February 2022 with a wide range of relevant stakeholders; they have confirmed both their interest in the material and the relevance of course for their working lives. A stakeholder WhatsApp consultation forum has been very active subsequently in sharing information about the course and in encouraging cross-sectoral networking and collaboration. KU and IIED also worked together with the Adaptation Consortium and their partners to co-develop a participatory study to understand the functionality of water investments in the drylands for water and food security. This has led to the development of a joint ADA/BRECcIA working paper that will be soon published on the BRECcIA and ADA websites. The online drylands perceptions survey developed into a research study, capturing the perceptions of around 200 respondents from BRECcIA's dryland stakeholder network. Findings are being written up by IIED and KU for publication in a special issue of the African Journal of Range and Forage Science on 'African Pastoralism and Rangelands in the Context of Global Objectives' |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP1 | Understanding, influencing, and building capacity for policy in food and water security in Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Organisation | International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The rationale for the LRP was the fulfilment of one of the overall objectives of the BRECcIA project, namely: [to provide]: "evidence informed policies and programmes on climate change adaptation, water management, food production and storage". The key objective of the policy LRP will therefore be to seek to fill policy gaps, at the country level, regional level and international level and at the comparative, synthesising and translation categories. Moreover, in SRP research related to the policy LRP, there has been demand for capacity building activities to be conducted, especially with government level policy makers. The policy LRP has therefore incorporated secondments into the project design. It is intended that there will be incoming secondments where government policy makers will be able to sit or 4-6 weeks at a BRECcIA or partner institution in order to facilitate co-learning. |
| Collaborator Contribution | 3 SRPs are related to this LRP namely: • Building capacity for policy uptake in Kitui and Wajir counties of Kenya - Fiona Ngarachu (lead); data collection phase expected to be completed Sept 2020. Contributions from this SRP include design of the secondments and data on policy maker attitudes and needs in the food and water security sector • Trends in climate variability, land use change, watershed governance and its implications on food security in the dryland of Suam River Basin, West Pokot County- Daniel Namenya (Lead); contributions include stakeholder engagement from policy makers contacts made through this SRP. Contributions to the comparative synthesis paper • Analysis of National Seed Policies of Malawi and Kenya: implications for water and food security resilience building in drylands - Henry Hunga (Lead). Contributions from this SRP include synthesis of the comparative paper as well as stakeholder engagement with policy makers. |
| Impact | none |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP1 | Understanding, influencing, and building capacity for policy in food and water security in Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Organisation | Kenyatta University |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The rationale for the LRP was the fulfilment of one of the overall objectives of the BRECcIA project, namely: [to provide]: "evidence informed policies and programmes on climate change adaptation, water management, food production and storage". The key objective of the policy LRP will therefore be to seek to fill policy gaps, at the country level, regional level and international level and at the comparative, synthesising and translation categories. Moreover, in SRP research related to the policy LRP, there has been demand for capacity building activities to be conducted, especially with government level policy makers. The policy LRP has therefore incorporated secondments into the project design. It is intended that there will be incoming secondments where government policy makers will be able to sit or 4-6 weeks at a BRECcIA or partner institution in order to facilitate co-learning. |
| Collaborator Contribution | 3 SRPs are related to this LRP namely: • Building capacity for policy uptake in Kitui and Wajir counties of Kenya - Fiona Ngarachu (lead); data collection phase expected to be completed Sept 2020. Contributions from this SRP include design of the secondments and data on policy maker attitudes and needs in the food and water security sector • Trends in climate variability, land use change, watershed governance and its implications on food security in the dryland of Suam River Basin, West Pokot County- Daniel Namenya (Lead); contributions include stakeholder engagement from policy makers contacts made through this SRP. Contributions to the comparative synthesis paper • Analysis of National Seed Policies of Malawi and Kenya: implications for water and food security resilience building in drylands - Henry Hunga (Lead). Contributions from this SRP include synthesis of the comparative paper as well as stakeholder engagement with policy makers. |
| Impact | none |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP1 | Understanding, influencing, and building capacity for policy in food and water security in Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Organisation | Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The rationale for the LRP was the fulfilment of one of the overall objectives of the BRECcIA project, namely: [to provide]: "evidence informed policies and programmes on climate change adaptation, water management, food production and storage". The key objective of the policy LRP will therefore be to seek to fill policy gaps, at the country level, regional level and international level and at the comparative, synthesising and translation categories. Moreover, in SRP research related to the policy LRP, there has been demand for capacity building activities to be conducted, especially with government level policy makers. The policy LRP has therefore incorporated secondments into the project design. It is intended that there will be incoming secondments where government policy makers will be able to sit or 4-6 weeks at a BRECcIA or partner institution in order to facilitate co-learning. |
| Collaborator Contribution | 3 SRPs are related to this LRP namely: • Building capacity for policy uptake in Kitui and Wajir counties of Kenya - Fiona Ngarachu (lead); data collection phase expected to be completed Sept 2020. Contributions from this SRP include design of the secondments and data on policy maker attitudes and needs in the food and water security sector • Trends in climate variability, land use change, watershed governance and its implications on food security in the dryland of Suam River Basin, West Pokot County- Daniel Namenya (Lead); contributions include stakeholder engagement from policy makers contacts made through this SRP. Contributions to the comparative synthesis paper • Analysis of National Seed Policies of Malawi and Kenya: implications for water and food security resilience building in drylands - Henry Hunga (Lead). Contributions from this SRP include synthesis of the comparative paper as well as stakeholder engagement with policy makers. |
| Impact | none |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP1 | Understanding, influencing, and building capacity for policy in food and water security in Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Organisation | University of Ghana |
| Country | Ghana |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The rationale for the LRP was the fulfilment of one of the overall objectives of the BRECcIA project, namely: [to provide]: "evidence informed policies and programmes on climate change adaptation, water management, food production and storage". The key objective of the policy LRP will therefore be to seek to fill policy gaps, at the country level, regional level and international level and at the comparative, synthesising and translation categories. Moreover, in SRP research related to the policy LRP, there has been demand for capacity building activities to be conducted, especially with government level policy makers. The policy LRP has therefore incorporated secondments into the project design. It is intended that there will be incoming secondments where government policy makers will be able to sit or 4-6 weeks at a BRECcIA or partner institution in order to facilitate co-learning. |
| Collaborator Contribution | 3 SRPs are related to this LRP namely: • Building capacity for policy uptake in Kitui and Wajir counties of Kenya - Fiona Ngarachu (lead); data collection phase expected to be completed Sept 2020. Contributions from this SRP include design of the secondments and data on policy maker attitudes and needs in the food and water security sector • Trends in climate variability, land use change, watershed governance and its implications on food security in the dryland of Suam River Basin, West Pokot County- Daniel Namenya (Lead); contributions include stakeholder engagement from policy makers contacts made through this SRP. Contributions to the comparative synthesis paper • Analysis of National Seed Policies of Malawi and Kenya: implications for water and food security resilience building in drylands - Henry Hunga (Lead). Contributions from this SRP include synthesis of the comparative paper as well as stakeholder engagement with policy makers. |
| Impact | none |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP1 | Understanding, influencing, and building capacity for policy in food and water security in Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Organisation | University of Malawi |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The rationale for the LRP was the fulfilment of one of the overall objectives of the BRECcIA project, namely: [to provide]: "evidence informed policies and programmes on climate change adaptation, water management, food production and storage". The key objective of the policy LRP will therefore be to seek to fill policy gaps, at the country level, regional level and international level and at the comparative, synthesising and translation categories. Moreover, in SRP research related to the policy LRP, there has been demand for capacity building activities to be conducted, especially with government level policy makers. The policy LRP has therefore incorporated secondments into the project design. It is intended that there will be incoming secondments where government policy makers will be able to sit or 4-6 weeks at a BRECcIA or partner institution in order to facilitate co-learning. |
| Collaborator Contribution | 3 SRPs are related to this LRP namely: • Building capacity for policy uptake in Kitui and Wajir counties of Kenya - Fiona Ngarachu (lead); data collection phase expected to be completed Sept 2020. Contributions from this SRP include design of the secondments and data on policy maker attitudes and needs in the food and water security sector • Trends in climate variability, land use change, watershed governance and its implications on food security in the dryland of Suam River Basin, West Pokot County- Daniel Namenya (Lead); contributions include stakeholder engagement from policy makers contacts made through this SRP. Contributions to the comparative synthesis paper • Analysis of National Seed Policies of Malawi and Kenya: implications for water and food security resilience building in drylands - Henry Hunga (Lead). Contributions from this SRP include synthesis of the comparative paper as well as stakeholder engagement with policy makers. |
| Impact | none |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP1 | Understanding, influencing, and building capacity for policy in food and water security in Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Organisation | University of Southampton |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The rationale for the LRP was the fulfilment of one of the overall objectives of the BRECcIA project, namely: [to provide]: "evidence informed policies and programmes on climate change adaptation, water management, food production and storage". The key objective of the policy LRP will therefore be to seek to fill policy gaps, at the country level, regional level and international level and at the comparative, synthesising and translation categories. Moreover, in SRP research related to the policy LRP, there has been demand for capacity building activities to be conducted, especially with government level policy makers. The policy LRP has therefore incorporated secondments into the project design. It is intended that there will be incoming secondments where government policy makers will be able to sit or 4-6 weeks at a BRECcIA or partner institution in order to facilitate co-learning. |
| Collaborator Contribution | 3 SRPs are related to this LRP namely: • Building capacity for policy uptake in Kitui and Wajir counties of Kenya - Fiona Ngarachu (lead); data collection phase expected to be completed Sept 2020. Contributions from this SRP include design of the secondments and data on policy maker attitudes and needs in the food and water security sector • Trends in climate variability, land use change, watershed governance and its implications on food security in the dryland of Suam River Basin, West Pokot County- Daniel Namenya (Lead); contributions include stakeholder engagement from policy makers contacts made through this SRP. Contributions to the comparative synthesis paper • Analysis of National Seed Policies of Malawi and Kenya: implications for water and food security resilience building in drylands - Henry Hunga (Lead). Contributions from this SRP include synthesis of the comparative paper as well as stakeholder engagement with policy makers. |
| Impact | none |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP3 | HydroHazards | Hydrological Modelling and Forecasting for Water and Food Security: Upscaling data and methods for national to regional risk mapping and early warning |
| Organisation | AGRHYMET Regional Centre (ARC) |
| Country | Global |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Hydro-climatic hazards are a major concern due to their impacts on water and food security in dryland regions, affecting the most vulnerable groups. To mitigate such impacts, it is crucial to monitor water and food security indicators to trigger early actions by decision makers. Providing seasonal climate forecasts can be a way to anticipate the insecurities by enabling formulation and implementation of apt water, food and agricultural risk management options. BRECcIA has developed capacity across a range of SRPs that can be integrated to help mitigate the impacts of hydro-climatic hazards. This includes hydrological modeling at a range of scales, crop modeling, satellite/drone remote sensing of land use change, crop production and water bodies, and mapping of socio-economic factors, exposure and vulnerability. This LRP builds on this to develop integrated risk mapping, monitoring and forecasting/early warning approaches for the three countries of BRECcIA, and potentially for the regions served by the regional centres (AGRHYMET for West Africa; WaterNet for southern Africa; and ICPAC for Greater Horn of Africa - represented by TUK/Uni. of Nairobi). The risk mapping here would mean coupling of the hazard frequencies with measures of exposure/impact and vulnerability/resilience. This LRP therefore focuses on three thematic areas: (1) Risk analysis and mapping (2) Operational real time monitoring and forecasting, and (3) Impacts and translation of knowledge. Stakeholder input is incorporated mainly through the regional centres (AGRHYMET, WaterNet and ICPAC via TUK/U. Nairobi) who are interested in providing hydrological risk mapping and early warning, including contributing to the regional Climate Outlook Forums (COFs), and via BRECcIA country institutions who are connected to various national agencies charged with disaster risk reduction and water/agricultural management (e.g. NDMA in Kenya). |
| Collaborator Contribution | This LRP builds on and connects research carried out across the BRECcIA project, including hydrological modeling in Niger/Burkina-Faso (AGRHYMET), Malawi (UoS, Univ. Malawi, WaterNet) and Kenya (TUK, Kenyatta Univ.), water quality sampling in Malawi (WaterNet), and crop modeling development currently focused on Malawi (UoS, Univ. Malawi, WaterNet) and now expanding to Ghana (AGRHYMET) and Kenya (MMUST, TUK). It also draws from the vulnerability and exposure mapping already carried out at the country level (Meryl Jaganarth's SRP), based on existing household survey data, hazard frequency maps (e.g. for drought) and other socio-economic and demographic map layers. There is a strong link to the crop LRP that is building capacity to estimate and understand yield gaps in the three BRECcIA countries, with a focus on climate-related crop risks and seasonal forecasting of crop production. There are also linkages to LRPs on 1) policy around the intersection of water and food that has implications for decision making and policy in the regions; and 2) community adaptation and resilience in terms of access to water and food, land use, resource management, interventions, etc. |
| Impact | None |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP3 | HydroHazards | Hydrological Modelling and Forecasting for Water and Food Security: Upscaling data and methods for national to regional risk mapping and early warning |
| Organisation | Kenyatta University |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Hydro-climatic hazards are a major concern due to their impacts on water and food security in dryland regions, affecting the most vulnerable groups. To mitigate such impacts, it is crucial to monitor water and food security indicators to trigger early actions by decision makers. Providing seasonal climate forecasts can be a way to anticipate the insecurities by enabling formulation and implementation of apt water, food and agricultural risk management options. BRECcIA has developed capacity across a range of SRPs that can be integrated to help mitigate the impacts of hydro-climatic hazards. This includes hydrological modeling at a range of scales, crop modeling, satellite/drone remote sensing of land use change, crop production and water bodies, and mapping of socio-economic factors, exposure and vulnerability. This LRP builds on this to develop integrated risk mapping, monitoring and forecasting/early warning approaches for the three countries of BRECcIA, and potentially for the regions served by the regional centres (AGRHYMET for West Africa; WaterNet for southern Africa; and ICPAC for Greater Horn of Africa - represented by TUK/Uni. of Nairobi). The risk mapping here would mean coupling of the hazard frequencies with measures of exposure/impact and vulnerability/resilience. This LRP therefore focuses on three thematic areas: (1) Risk analysis and mapping (2) Operational real time monitoring and forecasting, and (3) Impacts and translation of knowledge. Stakeholder input is incorporated mainly through the regional centres (AGRHYMET, WaterNet and ICPAC via TUK/U. Nairobi) who are interested in providing hydrological risk mapping and early warning, including contributing to the regional Climate Outlook Forums (COFs), and via BRECcIA country institutions who are connected to various national agencies charged with disaster risk reduction and water/agricultural management (e.g. NDMA in Kenya). |
| Collaborator Contribution | This LRP builds on and connects research carried out across the BRECcIA project, including hydrological modeling in Niger/Burkina-Faso (AGRHYMET), Malawi (UoS, Univ. Malawi, WaterNet) and Kenya (TUK, Kenyatta Univ.), water quality sampling in Malawi (WaterNet), and crop modeling development currently focused on Malawi (UoS, Univ. Malawi, WaterNet) and now expanding to Ghana (AGRHYMET) and Kenya (MMUST, TUK). It also draws from the vulnerability and exposure mapping already carried out at the country level (Meryl Jaganarth's SRP), based on existing household survey data, hazard frequency maps (e.g. for drought) and other socio-economic and demographic map layers. There is a strong link to the crop LRP that is building capacity to estimate and understand yield gaps in the three BRECcIA countries, with a focus on climate-related crop risks and seasonal forecasting of crop production. There are also linkages to LRPs on 1) policy around the intersection of water and food that has implications for decision making and policy in the regions; and 2) community adaptation and resilience in terms of access to water and food, land use, resource management, interventions, etc. |
| Impact | None |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP3 | HydroHazards | Hydrological Modelling and Forecasting for Water and Food Security: Upscaling data and methods for national to regional risk mapping and early warning |
| Organisation | Southern African Development Community |
| Department | Waternet |
| Country | Zimbabwe |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Hydro-climatic hazards are a major concern due to their impacts on water and food security in dryland regions, affecting the most vulnerable groups. To mitigate such impacts, it is crucial to monitor water and food security indicators to trigger early actions by decision makers. Providing seasonal climate forecasts can be a way to anticipate the insecurities by enabling formulation and implementation of apt water, food and agricultural risk management options. BRECcIA has developed capacity across a range of SRPs that can be integrated to help mitigate the impacts of hydro-climatic hazards. This includes hydrological modeling at a range of scales, crop modeling, satellite/drone remote sensing of land use change, crop production and water bodies, and mapping of socio-economic factors, exposure and vulnerability. This LRP builds on this to develop integrated risk mapping, monitoring and forecasting/early warning approaches for the three countries of BRECcIA, and potentially for the regions served by the regional centres (AGRHYMET for West Africa; WaterNet for southern Africa; and ICPAC for Greater Horn of Africa - represented by TUK/Uni. of Nairobi). The risk mapping here would mean coupling of the hazard frequencies with measures of exposure/impact and vulnerability/resilience. This LRP therefore focuses on three thematic areas: (1) Risk analysis and mapping (2) Operational real time monitoring and forecasting, and (3) Impacts and translation of knowledge. Stakeholder input is incorporated mainly through the regional centres (AGRHYMET, WaterNet and ICPAC via TUK/U. Nairobi) who are interested in providing hydrological risk mapping and early warning, including contributing to the regional Climate Outlook Forums (COFs), and via BRECcIA country institutions who are connected to various national agencies charged with disaster risk reduction and water/agricultural management (e.g. NDMA in Kenya). |
| Collaborator Contribution | This LRP builds on and connects research carried out across the BRECcIA project, including hydrological modeling in Niger/Burkina-Faso (AGRHYMET), Malawi (UoS, Univ. Malawi, WaterNet) and Kenya (TUK, Kenyatta Univ.), water quality sampling in Malawi (WaterNet), and crop modeling development currently focused on Malawi (UoS, Univ. Malawi, WaterNet) and now expanding to Ghana (AGRHYMET) and Kenya (MMUST, TUK). It also draws from the vulnerability and exposure mapping already carried out at the country level (Meryl Jaganarth's SRP), based on existing household survey data, hazard frequency maps (e.g. for drought) and other socio-economic and demographic map layers. There is a strong link to the crop LRP that is building capacity to estimate and understand yield gaps in the three BRECcIA countries, with a focus on climate-related crop risks and seasonal forecasting of crop production. There are also linkages to LRPs on 1) policy around the intersection of water and food that has implications for decision making and policy in the regions; and 2) community adaptation and resilience in terms of access to water and food, land use, resource management, interventions, etc. |
| Impact | None |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP3 | HydroHazards | Hydrological Modelling and Forecasting for Water and Food Security: Upscaling data and methods for national to regional risk mapping and early warning |
| Organisation | Technical University of Kenya |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Hydro-climatic hazards are a major concern due to their impacts on water and food security in dryland regions, affecting the most vulnerable groups. To mitigate such impacts, it is crucial to monitor water and food security indicators to trigger early actions by decision makers. Providing seasonal climate forecasts can be a way to anticipate the insecurities by enabling formulation and implementation of apt water, food and agricultural risk management options. BRECcIA has developed capacity across a range of SRPs that can be integrated to help mitigate the impacts of hydro-climatic hazards. This includes hydrological modeling at a range of scales, crop modeling, satellite/drone remote sensing of land use change, crop production and water bodies, and mapping of socio-economic factors, exposure and vulnerability. This LRP builds on this to develop integrated risk mapping, monitoring and forecasting/early warning approaches for the three countries of BRECcIA, and potentially for the regions served by the regional centres (AGRHYMET for West Africa; WaterNet for southern Africa; and ICPAC for Greater Horn of Africa - represented by TUK/Uni. of Nairobi). The risk mapping here would mean coupling of the hazard frequencies with measures of exposure/impact and vulnerability/resilience. This LRP therefore focuses on three thematic areas: (1) Risk analysis and mapping (2) Operational real time monitoring and forecasting, and (3) Impacts and translation of knowledge. Stakeholder input is incorporated mainly through the regional centres (AGRHYMET, WaterNet and ICPAC via TUK/U. Nairobi) who are interested in providing hydrological risk mapping and early warning, including contributing to the regional Climate Outlook Forums (COFs), and via BRECcIA country institutions who are connected to various national agencies charged with disaster risk reduction and water/agricultural management (e.g. NDMA in Kenya). |
| Collaborator Contribution | This LRP builds on and connects research carried out across the BRECcIA project, including hydrological modeling in Niger/Burkina-Faso (AGRHYMET), Malawi (UoS, Univ. Malawi, WaterNet) and Kenya (TUK, Kenyatta Univ.), water quality sampling in Malawi (WaterNet), and crop modeling development currently focused on Malawi (UoS, Univ. Malawi, WaterNet) and now expanding to Ghana (AGRHYMET) and Kenya (MMUST, TUK). It also draws from the vulnerability and exposure mapping already carried out at the country level (Meryl Jaganarth's SRP), based on existing household survey data, hazard frequency maps (e.g. for drought) and other socio-economic and demographic map layers. There is a strong link to the crop LRP that is building capacity to estimate and understand yield gaps in the three BRECcIA countries, with a focus on climate-related crop risks and seasonal forecasting of crop production. There are also linkages to LRPs on 1) policy around the intersection of water and food that has implications for decision making and policy in the regions; and 2) community adaptation and resilience in terms of access to water and food, land use, resource management, interventions, etc. |
| Impact | None |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP3 | HydroHazards | Hydrological Modelling and Forecasting for Water and Food Security: Upscaling data and methods for national to regional risk mapping and early warning |
| Organisation | University of Malawi |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Hydro-climatic hazards are a major concern due to their impacts on water and food security in dryland regions, affecting the most vulnerable groups. To mitigate such impacts, it is crucial to monitor water and food security indicators to trigger early actions by decision makers. Providing seasonal climate forecasts can be a way to anticipate the insecurities by enabling formulation and implementation of apt water, food and agricultural risk management options. BRECcIA has developed capacity across a range of SRPs that can be integrated to help mitigate the impacts of hydro-climatic hazards. This includes hydrological modeling at a range of scales, crop modeling, satellite/drone remote sensing of land use change, crop production and water bodies, and mapping of socio-economic factors, exposure and vulnerability. This LRP builds on this to develop integrated risk mapping, monitoring and forecasting/early warning approaches for the three countries of BRECcIA, and potentially for the regions served by the regional centres (AGRHYMET for West Africa; WaterNet for southern Africa; and ICPAC for Greater Horn of Africa - represented by TUK/Uni. of Nairobi). The risk mapping here would mean coupling of the hazard frequencies with measures of exposure/impact and vulnerability/resilience. This LRP therefore focuses on three thematic areas: (1) Risk analysis and mapping (2) Operational real time monitoring and forecasting, and (3) Impacts and translation of knowledge. Stakeholder input is incorporated mainly through the regional centres (AGRHYMET, WaterNet and ICPAC via TUK/U. Nairobi) who are interested in providing hydrological risk mapping and early warning, including contributing to the regional Climate Outlook Forums (COFs), and via BRECcIA country institutions who are connected to various national agencies charged with disaster risk reduction and water/agricultural management (e.g. NDMA in Kenya). |
| Collaborator Contribution | This LRP builds on and connects research carried out across the BRECcIA project, including hydrological modeling in Niger/Burkina-Faso (AGRHYMET), Malawi (UoS, Univ. Malawi, WaterNet) and Kenya (TUK, Kenyatta Univ.), water quality sampling in Malawi (WaterNet), and crop modeling development currently focused on Malawi (UoS, Univ. Malawi, WaterNet) and now expanding to Ghana (AGRHYMET) and Kenya (MMUST, TUK). It also draws from the vulnerability and exposure mapping already carried out at the country level (Meryl Jaganarth's SRP), based on existing household survey data, hazard frequency maps (e.g. for drought) and other socio-economic and demographic map layers. There is a strong link to the crop LRP that is building capacity to estimate and understand yield gaps in the three BRECcIA countries, with a focus on climate-related crop risks and seasonal forecasting of crop production. There are also linkages to LRPs on 1) policy around the intersection of water and food that has implications for decision making and policy in the regions; and 2) community adaptation and resilience in terms of access to water and food, land use, resource management, interventions, etc. |
| Impact | None |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | LRP3 | HydroHazards | Hydrological Modelling and Forecasting for Water and Food Security: Upscaling data and methods for national to regional risk mapping and early warning |
| Organisation | University of Southampton |