Linkages, Partnerships and Communities of Practice

By Bing Bayot and Bas Bouman, June 2006

Most projects have developed effective partnerships involving different stakeholders at different scale levels. Striking are the scientist-farmer partnerships established in many projects through farmer participatory development of natural resource management technologies [e.g., PN5, PN6, PN8, PN10, PN12, PN16] and farmer-participatory variety selection and/or seed distribution [e.g., PN1, PN2, PN16]. At the institution level, partnerships involve CGIAR Centers and a large number of NARES partners, each with well-defined roles and responsibilities in the project implementation.

Partnerships in the project teams in different benchmark basins (Number of participating institutions in Theme 1 principal projects)

Most projects effectively build upon previous activities, projects and partnerships. A number of projects are successfully integrated or linked with non-CPWF networks, consortia, or platforms to facilitate the exchange of information and project results:

• SADC/ ICRISAT Sorghum and Millet Improvement Program [PN1]
• SADC/ ICRISAT Groundnut and Pigeonpea Projects [PN1]
• Southern Africa Drought and Low Soil Fertility (SADLF) [PN1]
• CGIAR Desert Margins Program [PN1, PN5]
• CGIAR Generation Challenge Program [PN2, PN7]
• Semi-arid Food Grain Research and Development (SAFGRAD) [PN5]
• GLOWA Volta Project [PN5, PN6]
• African Network for Soil Biology and Fertility (AfNET) [PN5, PN15]
• Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environments (CURE) [PN7, PN11]
• The International Network for Genetic Evaluation of Rice (INGER) [PN7]
• Central Asian countries community of practice on water productivity [PN8]
• Rice-Wheat Consortium [PN12, PN16]
• Integrated Soil Management Consortium MIS [PN15]
• CIPASLA [PN15]
• Irrigated Rice Research Consortium (IRRC) [PN16]
• International Platform on Saving Water in Rice (IPSWAR) [PN16]
• China Agricultural Aerobic Rice Regional Trial and Demonstration Network (CNARRTDN) and the National Aerobic Rice Extension Association Network (NAREAN) [PN16]

CPWF is closely linked with two related initiatives:

• The Dialogue on Water, Food and Environment

The objective of the Dialogue is to help bridge the chasm between agriculture and environmental communities over the way water should be managed and developed.

• The Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture

The objective of the Comprehensive Assessment is to assess the potential to grow more food with less water in ways that alleviate poverty and sustain or improve human and environmental health.