African Dryland Alliance for Pesticidal
Plant Technologies:
A network for optimising and promoting the use of indigenous
botanical knowledge for food security and poverty alleviation in Africa
Activities in the ADAPPT project are broken
down into six different workpackages, each managed by a different project
partner. A brief summary of the activities and their expected deliverables
can be found below.
WP 1: Management,
Monitoring and Evaluation of Project
Lead partner NRI-UoG overall project management
Objectives
• Coordinate all activities among partners
• Ensure timely reporting to the ACP S&T programme as instructed
at the project outset
• Ensure all activities are carried out to time and to budget.
• Implement communication strategy for project outputs
• Participatory M & E
Justification
Project size, complexity and level of integration/interdependency among
different project actions require strict delivery and adherence to project
timelines. Partners must work together to achieve project outputs.
Description of work
Project inception workshop. A one-week project inception workshop will
be held at the outset to enable all partners to define the procedures
for working together to establish the network and achieving the project
outputs.
We will review the contractual arrangements for the financial control
of the project and for the assessment of the agreed tasks and deliverables.
Work package managers will be assigned present strategies and protocols
to be accepted after discussion by all partners.
The workshop will include training where needed, especially for standardised
procedures that need to be followed by different partners.
Follow-up coordination meetings. Formal meetings will be organised each
year with representation from each partner. These will coincide with network
meetings that will engage more widely with scientists, policy makers and
agricultural technicians across the region (described in WP2 below). In
order to provide the project with independent evaluation and ensure key
stakeholders are informed of progress, experts and end users will be invited
to participate. Presentations from each work package leader will summarise
projected outputs as optimised by the discussion at this inception meeting.
Discussions about progress, potential deviations from the work plan and
forward planning will be standing items at each meeting.
Activity reporting. Partners will prepare a two-page activity report every
three to six months depending on the contract rules. The lead applicant
and work package managers will use these to assess whether work progresses
to plan and take action to minimise the effects of delays on other project
activities.
Annual progress reports. Annual reports will be provided as instructed
by the ACP S&T programme. Work package leaders will be responsible
for collating information and making a single WP-report. The lead applicant
will be responsible for integrating these into a single full report. A
similar approach will be used to prepare the final project report covering
information from all project years.
Project communication strategy. Implementation of the project communication
strategy .
Deliverables
• Project activity and financial reporting delivered on time and
as instructed by the project guidance
• Website built based on current site www.nri.org/sapp
• Communication strategy implemented via project website forum and
through ADAPT network meetings.
• External Advisory Board assembled.
Risks
Efficiency of partners’ organisations are affected by political
or institutional problems that affect carrying out activities or financial
reporting.
External Advisory Board are not all able to attend ADAPT network meetings.
Feedback can be delivered via other members of this
review group.
Staff changes at consortium institutions, although none anticipated.
WP 2: Development and establishment of Pan-African
pesticidal plants network – ADAPT
Lead partner NRI-UoG
Objectives
• Establish and consolidate a network of scientists, policy makers,
NGOs and agricultural technicians - working in collaboration with farmers
- to develop, optimise and promote pesticidal plants for poverty alleviation
• Strengthen cooperation of different stakeholders and build links
from farms to government to directly influence policy and move farming
practice to environmentally benign pest management.
• Develop capacity in network members to better capitalize on research
results through inter-network collaborations and information exchange
forums.
• The network will develop policy guidelines that are valid nationally
and internationally to promote the sustainable use of pesticidal plants
and strategies to commercialise these materials at the farmer and SME
level for wealth generation and poverty alleviation.
Justification
Literature searches in national and international journals along with
various grey literature indicates that there are numerous scientists and
other individuals working on the evaluation development and optimisation
pesticidal plants. Most of these individuals or small groups operate in
isolation and consequently few outputs benefit from the multi-disciplinary
approaches that are the hallmark of high quality research. The work rarely
progresses beyond a publication in national journals and thus has poor
distribution and readership. Too many questions remain unanswered due
to a lack of an intellectual and practical support network to enable them
to fully and robustly evaluate these materials or determine their potential
value in farmers’ fields and ultimately develop preparations and
applications that are appropriate technologies for resource poor farmers.
A network of scientists, NGOs and agricultural technicians across Africa
will provide a platform on which these important and effective alternatives
to financially and environmentally costly commercial pesticides can be
optimised, expanded and fully exploited to improve the livelihoods of
Africa’s poorest farmers.
An external advisory group constituting international experts in the field
will be assembled to provide the project with independent monitoring and
evaluation to ensure that project activities are planned and carried out
with the best possible chance of success.
Addresses MDG 8 Develop a global partnership
to development
Description of work
Network. Considerable ethno-botanical expertise exists at institutions
and universities in African countries and will be brought together under
the ADAPT network. Links to and input from international institutes and
organisations including ICRAF, ICRISAT, RBG-Kew and NRI as well as forums
set up during a former project phase (www.nri.org/sapp) will provide the
foundation for the network and input expertise to help establish research
frameworks to help convert research outputs into development tools that
can address crop protection and grain storage issues for farmers and be
developed into market products.
Research Coordination: Research being conducted by network partners will
be coordinated to ensure that the activities do not overlap but rather
are additive and collaborative. Multiple inputs from different partners
with different expertise will result in more robust outcomes and higher
quality results and publications with greater likelihood of enabling uptake
to products that will have rapid impact and provide development technologies
for improving livelihoods of poor farmers.
Stakeholder participation. The network will engage widely with stakeholders
including farmers and small agro-veterinary business to consult and debate
the needs and circumstances by which pesticidal plant use can be exploited
to provide reliable food security, promoted widely and optimised. In particular
ADAPT network partners will organise in-country workshops to build intra-national
networks for training and provide a route for information transfer to
a wider body of scientists, technologists, NGOs and extension services
and ultimately to farmers than would be feasible through the international
ADAPT network meetings. It is imperative that these national level meetings
include representative farmers so that their needs and circumstances can
be delivered directly to those developing research programmes and formulating
national agricultural policies. Communication within the ADAPT network
will be two-way.
Policy development: Pesticidal plants do not provide a revenue stream
for larger businesses or generate income, via taxes, for government and
may thus receive less attention in drawing up agriculture policies at
the national level than they deserve. The projects intra-national networks,
with evidence and personnel support from the ADAPT network will lobby
national programmes for the expansion of pesticidal plant use in developing
agricultural policy.
Communication network: The website of the current pesticidal plant research
project (www.nri.org/sapp) will be adapted to host internet-based communication
among ADAPT network partners and other network associates via email forums
and also for the dissemination of ADAPT activities and pesticidal plant
information about optimised uses, research results, health and safety
issues, commercialisation, propagation and conservation to the wider agricultural
research community across all ACP countries and worldwide. Presently the
web site receives several hundred visits per month from more than 50 countries
worldwide.
International conference: The network will host one international conference
on applied pesticidal plant research and provide an opportunity to communicate
the research outputs and activities of the ADAPT network to the international
scientific community including participants from non-African ACP states
and elsewhere. The proceedings will be published in a special issue of
an internationally refereed journal e.g., International Journal of Pest
Management, International Journal of Tropical Insect Science, or Crop
Protection for which the project leader is on the Editorial Board. This
will help to reinforce the importance of high quality in research methods
design, data collection, archiving, analysis and reporting since each
contributed paper for submission will be reviewed under normal journal
criteria and the prospect of publishing in a journal of this calibre will
be promoted in the early days of the project. Potential participants will
therefore have time during the project to develop and apply new skills
with the aim of producing a publication of internationally recognised
quality.
Research quality parameters: Define and promote peer review and evaluation
procedures and indicators among network members to optimise the quality
of work being carried out across the region on pesticidal plants.
Deliverables
• 3 annual meetings of ADAPT network.
• 4 additional ADAPT partner meetings including the inception meeting
• ADAPT network website built as pesticidal plant forum
• African dryland pesticidal plant database constructed
• Additional communication between partners as collaborations and
cooperation grows
• Policy document developed to guide optimisation and promotion
• At least 10 research papers in internationally refereed journals
• International conference hosted in one of the key African partner
countries with proceedings published in international journal.
Risks
Cooperation of scientists towards a collaborative rather than competitive
research environment will take time.
Attendances of so many participants at meetings can not be guaranteed
and so may compromise outcomes.
WP 3: Develop instruments for collaborative research
through capacity building and training
Lead partner University of Zimbabwe
Objectives
• Capacity to determine research needs and gaps in development and
promotion of pesticidal plants across ADAPT network states established
• Capacity increased to influence formulation of research policy
by ensuring partners are informed to affect change and implement policies
• Capacity to prepare and submit proposals to research funding calls
enhanced.
• Quality of research results improved.
• Research protocols developed and shared
Justification
The editorial experience of ADAPT project partners refereeing submissions
to various international journals, e.g., Crop Protection, Phytochemistry,
Bulletin of Entomological Research, Journal of Stored Products Research
and International Journal of Tropical Insect Science, is that a considerable
proportion of research on pesticidal plants from African research institutes
lacks sufficient quality in research methods design, data collection,
archiving and analysis and also reporting to be accepted. As a consequence
most submissions from the continent are not successful. This is an important
loss of information to the wider scientific community but could be addressed
through appropriate training and capacity building. This work package
will aim directly to raise the level of research quality among the ADAPT
partners and their national networks.
An essential component of developing the project’s exit strategy
will be to ensure that the ADAPT network members continue research and
development work on pesticidal plants beyond the life time of this proposed
project. This needs to continue at the higher standards cultivated during
the proposed project as explained above while exploiting the collaborative
teams established across the continent by the ADAPT network. These multiple
nation teams will not only provide the benefits of multidisciplinary approaches
but will also provide international donors with more attractive funding
opportunities since at present donors are frequently faced with single
institute submissions that are limited in their scope and skills diversity.
More people need training in numerous techniques including PRAs, laboratory
and on-farm evaluation, suitable for determining toxicity, bio-safety,
activity, PRAs, laboratory evaluation to provide outputs with real value
to advancing and optimising pesticidal plant application.
Description
of work
Provide guidance and training based on international experience for the
development of African-led project proposals. Emphasis will be given to
establishing good financial records, robust administrative management
and the importance of timely inputs and output delivery by involved staff.
The ADAPT network provides an opportunity to determine and guide policy
formulation at national and regional levels. Therefore, defining technical
instruments (e.g. tax incentives), and strengthening legislation related
to property rights will be important aspects of capacity building.
The ADAPT network will assemble the means of independently evaluating
research, proposals and project ideas on pesticidal plants. A broad overview
of research activities will be undertaken on the pesticidal plant research
in Africa since much work has been done but has had little impact on farmers’
needs. The outcome will be to strengthen and upgrade the competencies
of the pesticidal plant technology community through the production of
a research framework that clearly defines research methods and the management
of large well-funded multinational research collaborations.
Workshops: Organise training workshop at regional and national levels
to strengthen and upgrade the competencies of scientific network members.
At least 8 workshops will be held that provide formal tutoring for network
partners
i) Habitat surveys and plant data-basing (RBG-KEW to lead)
ii) Evaluation of pesticidal plant materials against stored products pests,
field pests and livestock to quality control pesticidal plant products
(University of Zimbabwe to lead)
iii) Micro propagation of effective pesticidal plant species limited by
their natural distribution or abundance (RBG-Kew to lead)
iv) Horticultural Propagation and seed germination of wild plants (ICRAF
to lead)
v) Participatory Rural Appraisals and livelihoods studies (NRI-UoG to
lead)
vi) Promotion and marketing techniques (SAFIRE to lead)
vii) Project management (funding and logistical). Some experience gained
as different partners manage their own work package. (NRI-UoG to lead)
viii) United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, intellectual
property rights and indigenous ownership. (RBG-Kew to lead)
Database: Comprehensive electronic database of pesticidal plants occurring
and used in African dry lands, particularly Caesalpinioid woodlands. Based
on indigenous knowledge surveys. Uses collated and supported by all known
literature.
Policy Document: Policy document highlighting conservation targets and
solutions and regulatory frameworks.
Deliverables
• Simple protocols on the best way to use pesticidal plant materials,
produced for farmers and NGOs.
• Facts sheets in local languages providing instructions for the
safe and effective use of local pesticidal plants produced.
• Focus strengthen and upgrade the competencies of the agricultural
research community – research methods
• At least 10 scientists or students per country in eight countries
trained in aspects of pesticidal plant research, development and deployment
• At least 24 scientists (3 per country) across the whole network
trained in proposal writing for international funding bodies
• 3 multidisciplinary taskforces established on identified knowledge
gaps
Risks
Suitable candidates are available for training. Past experience on similar
actions suggests this risk is very low.
WP 4: Dissemination of outputs and promotion
for raising awareness and improving access to information
Lead partner Egerton University
Objectives
• Raise awareness through policy briefs at government and policy
level of the importance of pesticidal plants to addressing the MDGs
• Raising awareness of the importance and economic value of using
pesticidal plants to farmers through publicity material, mass media and
farmer field schools.
• Raising the quality of research outputs by guiding the dissemination
of research results in high impact internationally refereed journals.
• Provide a website to facilitate network activities communication
and information on technical and application of pesticidal plant materials.
• Development of bio-safety protocols for botanical pesticides
Justification
Surveys of farmers across southern Africa in recent previous projects
indicate that the economic value of pesticidal plants in crop production
and food security is well understood by farmers, extension workers, NGOs
and many scientists. However, to enable broader uptake at national levels
in network member states and across Africa, the application, propagation
and commercialisation of these materials needs to be taken up through
national government programs. Previous work has shown that the application
of plant materials can be optimised to improve efficacy, reduce inputs
and environmental costs. This knowledge needs to be delivered to farmers
through various promotional processes including the distribution of information
leaflets as well as popular media including TV, radio and newspapers.
Description of work
Production of policy document setting out detailed information on uptake
pathways for pesticidal plant use in each network member state, the hurdles
and processes to facilitate promotion and information dissemination.
Media organisations are already well known to many of the partners and
will be engaged to maximise the opportunities to disseminate information
about pesticidal plants via radio, TV and newspapers as well as through
community based forums such as farmer field schools and village posters.
Current research work of partners on parallel active research projects
will benefit from ADAPT network input to raise the quality of submissions
to higher quality journals.
Standard toxicological procedures of botanical pesticides and their bioactive
constituents use acute and sub-chronic mammalian toxicity (oral, dermal
and inhalation) in rabbits or rats with LD/LC50 values indicating the
levels of toxicity. The ADAPT network will provide a discussion forum
on toxicological analysis of plant materials to identify ways of evaluating
their toxicity robustly while minimising the harm to which mammals, whether
bred for purpose or otherwise are usually subjected. The importance of
toxicity against beneficial insects, such as pollinator bees and predators,
will also be evaluated.
Deliverables
• Publicity material for ADAPT network and pesticidal plant use
more generally.
• Programmes promoting the safe and effective use of pesticidal
plants aired on radio and television.
• 10 research papers in internationally refereed journals.
• Farmer and NGO workshops held to inform the wider community about
the use of pesticidal plants.
• Biosafety data on non-target organisms including man and the environment
Risks
Cooperation and interest of journalists and media organisations can be
maintained
WP 5: Development and promotion of sustainable
production of botanical pesticides through propagation and conservation
Lead partner Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
Objectives
• Generate data on propagation criteria for pesticidal plant materials
that are sought after, rare and/or commonly used by people living in African
dryland eco-regions.
• Develop improved cultivation and harvesting protocols for wild-collected
plants at risk of over-collection
• Develop improved methods of collecting pesticidal plants that
optimises bioactivity
• Advance the Pesticidal Plants database
Justification
Deforestation and loss of natural habitats continues to pose serious environmental
challenges and maintaining these natural habitats will play a crucial
role in mitigating climate change. Forest and woodlands also conserve
biodiversity, soil and water resources and, when managed sustainably,
can strengthen local and national economies and promote the well-being
of present and future generations. The Savannah woodlands that cover large
areas of African drylands are an excellent example of this type of natural
habitat where human pressure of population and agricultural land needs
as well as the conversion of indigenous forest to exotic tree timber production
has devastated vast swathes of the natural woodland across Africa. Pesticidal
plants illustrate the importance of maintaining biodiversity in natural
habitats. Without these natural forest stands, the source of many pesticidal
plant materials is being lost and the potential for the discovery of new
materials is reduced.
The use of pesticidal plants collected from the wild is only sustainable
if small numbers of people use the plant, if the plant is abundant and
ubiquitous or if it can be propagated easily. Demand for some pesticidal
plants is outstripping supply, particularly as other factors mentioned
above put pressure on the dwindling woodlands. There is little knowledge
about growing and propagating pesticidal plant species, making attempts
to cultivate them difficult. Variation in farmer practice and lack of
phytochemical knowledge makes it difficult to know which are the optimal
methods for collecting plants.
MDG 7 Ensuring environmental sustainability.
Description of work
Propagation. The conditions for germination vary considerably and plant
seeds often need to be stimulated. Trials on the timing of seed collection,
seed drying, storage, and germination have been established for some species
during a previous project and this knowledge will be disseminated to network
members, policy makers and farmers. Further work by network members will
be carried out on existing knowledge gaps to optimise the techniques for
different plant species, locations and environments.
Cultivation. Data generated through propagation trials will lead to on-farm
trials where farmers cultivate pesticidal plants. These trials can assess
germination and production inputs required. Samples collected would need
to be chemically analysed to compare with wild plants.
Sustainable Harvesting. The plant compounds in pesticidal plants can vary
according to location and season and since their efficacy as pest control
agents depends on plant compounds harvesting times can be crucial in optimising
their efficacy. A list of plant species will be made through discussion
with network partners and associates and farming communities and based
on existing knowledge. In some cases, roots, bark, seeds or entire plants
of pesticidal species are used, and the collection of these parts is not
sustainable. New targeted research by network partners will help inform
this activity. For example, it may be that where roots are harvested (and
so the plant is killed) active compounds also occur in leaves, and harvesting
these would be more sustainable. Trials to improve the way certain species
are harvested can be carried out in collaboration with farming communities.
These trials can assess the impact of modified harvesting methods on abundance
of the species within a restricted area and compare this to similar areas
where modified harvesting has not been practiced.
Processing. Once harvested plant materials are usually dried, ground or
extracted to give a product which is used immediately, stored or sold.
Exposure to sunlight and oxidation can change chemistry and so it’s
bioactivity, so knowledge gaps will focus on the way in which farmers
may process pesticidal plant species.
Deliverables
• Guidelines on collecting and cultivating pesticidal plants that
are not presently cultivated and are threatened.
• Protocols produced for sustainable harvesting and effective preparation
of pesticidal plant material.
• Farmer and NGO workshops to inform the wider farming community
about sustainable use of pesticidal plants and their cultivation.
• Policy document on sustainable use of pesticidal plants and conservation
of African dryland habitats.
• Plants database to provide a resource for journal article references
and practical information on the use of pesticidal plants.
Risks
Network actions will necessarily lead to prioritisation of knowledge gaps,
and actions will need to focus the most promising plants and most important
needs related to increasing availability of pesticidal plants.
WP 6: Commercialisation and marketing
Lead partner SAFIRE
Objectives
• Maximise availability of plant pesticides to small-scale farmers
• Develop pesticidal plants as a cash crop for small-scale farmers
living in the African dryland eco-regions
• Develop processes to exploit economic markets to promote the use
of pesticidal plants
• Develop IPR, indigenous ownership and product registration protocols
to promote innovation and local industrial investments
Justification
This is an essential step towards the formalisation of pesticidal plant
use for agricultural pest management, particularly if government and non-governmental
organisations continue to promote the use of wild plants. Demand for pesticidal
plants will continue to grow, which can only realistically be met through
their cultivation and marketing. Furthermore, many outstanding plants
species such as Neem (Azadirachta indica) have restricted natural distribution
which limits the opportunities for farmers to exploit them so alternative
species must be found or marketing and distribution opportunities for
existing materials need to be set up. However, pesticidal plant products
are a relatively unknown sector. Although the synthetic industry can be
used as a proxy, a sub-sector analysis is required to characterise key
players from production to consumption as well as assess and review the
policies and regulations.
Addresses MDG 1. Eradicate extreme poverty.
Description of work
Pesticidal plant product sector characterisation
Market information systems: The activity looks at creating market information
platforms and developing market linkages in the target areas. A Market
Analysis and Development (MA&D) approach will be used. Marketing of
pesticidal plant products is not so well developed in many countries despite
the growing recognition that there is demand for natural pesticides. A
diagnostic survey of the existing situation will be conducted to assess
knowledge and understanding of products, constraints, needs, and potential
markets. Depending on the level of knowledge, the households, producer
groups and entrepreneurs will be educated on the market potential of the
products that they are producing or can produce.
Rural households generally have weak market knowledge and poor access
to market information (product demand, specifications and prices). They
end up generating products of unreliable quality and quantity, rarely
engaging in grading and processing to improve product quality (and profit
margins) and usually sell their products as individuals (not through groups
to achieve economies of scale). The activity will conduct market surveys
using a rapid survey format to identify and understand:
i) pesticidal products that hold potential for farmers (their specifications,
quantities, seasonality etc);
ii) the market channels that are used and hold commercial potential for
smallholder products;
iii) the market problems faced by farmers and market agents;
iv) the opportunities to improve the quantity and quality of products
and
v) market integration (through vertical price correlation and price transmission
elasticity) and efficiency. This activity has already been initiated in
current projects in some of the selected countries. This information will
be made available to the target groups through easy-to-read information
leaflets and meetings.
Market linkages : The second activity will identify and evaluate the current
markets (buyers) and assess their potential to increase volumes. This
information is crucial in matching product type and demand level. Market
intelligence will be gathered through pro-active contacts and web-based
searches. The information will be documented and shared with all stakeholders.
The surveys will also characterize the product-to market chain and create
a better understanding of the market linkages. This activity will be a
two-way process which will also inform the buyers about the products that
farmers are producing. There is potential to link this with the organic
markets. Fact sheets on pesticide products will be produced and distributed
as widely as possible. The information can also be advertised in the media.
Deliverables
• Policy and socio-economic report on market potential of pesticidal
plant materials from African dryland habitats.
• Workshops for NGOs and farmers to promote the supply of pesticidal
plants by small scale enterprises in each country.
• Information and fact sheets on marketable products
• Farmer marketing network
Risks
Pesticidal plant product development and commercialization will need to
conform with partner countries’ agricultural and trade regulations.