Excellence in Agronomy 2030: A new CGIAR-wide initiative to deliver agronomy solutions at scale

Required increases in crop production and productivity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) will not happen without the increased use of appropriate agronomic practices. While several thousand new varieties of nearly all key crops have been produced in the past decade, recent increases in yields in specific countries have only happened when such varieties received the right agro-inputs and management. That said, agronomy is often highlighted as an area that has not delivered impact at scale in SSA, or at least less so when compared with the uptake of new varieties. Several reasons have caused this, including the site-specificity of agronomy interventions, the complex nature of many of these, lack of access to key agro-inputs, risk aversion of smallholder farmers, amongst many others.

Above constrains are being addressed with many key developments over the past decade that will allow agronomy to deliver impact at scale. These include: (i) substantial progress with data availability, remote sensing information, and analytical tools that allow the implementation of agronomy R&D at scale; (ii) the large number of companies delivering advisory services to smallholder farmers, including agronomy-related information; (iii) an increased understanding from governments and partners that intensification requires the co-deployment of varieties and agronomic practices; and (iv) the relatively large investments in agronomy R&D, though most often through specific, short-term projects with limited cross-learning and interactions between scientists. 

The Excellence in Agronomy 2030 (EiA 2030) initiative, developed by the CGIAR, is built on above opportunities, aiming at delivering ‘agronomic gain’ for millions of smallholder farmers in the Global South. The presentation will (i) highlight recent developments in agronomy in line with above opportunities; (ii) present key components of EiA 2030; and (iii) detail how the CGIAR agronomy R&D community aims at delivering its goals, in partnership with key stakeholders operating in the agronomy space.