The Collaborative Crop Research Program (CCRP) is a project by Rebecca J. Nelson of Cornell University and Jane Maland Cady of the McKnight Foundation to fund participatory, collaborative research on agroecological intensification (AEI) for farming communities in Africa and South America. Funded projects typically link international, national, and local organizations with communities of smallholder farmers, researchers, development professionals, and other parties. Projects work together as part of a Community of Practice to generate technical and social innovations to improve nutrition, livelihoods, and productivity. Large-scale impact is realized when new ideas, technologies, or processes are adapted, when insights from research catalyze change in policy and practice, and when innovation inspires further success. The program is under the direction of
Program History The McKnight Foundation began funding crop research in 1983 with the Plant Biology Program and granted $18 million through the program from 1983 to 1992. The CCRP began in 1993 with a $12 million, six-year effort to support agricultural research in developing countries.
In 2000, McKnight committed another $41.5 million over nine years. In late 2001 and mid-2002, the CCRP's Advisory Committee met to design the strategy for the next phase of grantmaking and identified specific topics for funding.
In 2006, the CCRP adopted a place-based strategy for grantmaking, directing its investments to regional communities of practice in the Andes; West Africa; and Southern Africa.
In 2008, the Foundation committed $47 million over ten years for the next phase of funding for the program. In addition, the CCRP received a five-year $26.7 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This phase of funding allowed for the formation of an additional community of practice in East Africa and Horn of Africa as well as additional resources to allow for more technical support to grantees from regional teams and other support persons.
In 2013, The McKnight Foundation received a renewal grant from the Gates Foundation to continue building CCRP programs. This funding will allow the CCRP to increase its focus on the integration of legumes into the cropping systems of Mali, Burkina Faso, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Tanzania as well as Niger, Kenya, Malawi, and Mozambique. Legumes are very important to African agriculture. They're a major source of dietary protein and help sustain more fertile soils. And they tend to be more adaptable than other crops to drought, low nutrients, and other soil and climatic extremes.https://www.ccrp.org
Place-based Learning Central to the CCRP’s place-based approach is the formation of four regional communities of practice (CoPs) in Africa and South America, where hunger and poverty levels are among the highest in the world. Grantees within these communities work together to strengthen institutional capacity to generate knowledge and spark innovation in agriculture research and development. The CoP model emphasizes networking, learning, and collective action.
Andes CoP (Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru) The Andes CoP supports integrated and diverse production systems that embrace conservation and native agricultural biodiversity as part of its goal to raise the profile of traditional knowledge and understanding its relationship to scientific research. Funding is directed toward conservation of agricultural biodiversity, breeding and variety selection, seed systems, integrated crop and pest management, risk management and climate variability, nutrition, soil fertility management, and market development.
East & Horn of Africa CoP (Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda) The E&HAf CoP aims to improve performance of farming systems primarily through support for crop diversification, for crop improvement and diversification, and an emphasis on management strategies that enhance crop access to scarce soil nutrients and water resources and reduce pest and disease losses. The CoP is also turning attention to post-harvest issues such as consumption, storage, transformation, and markets to increase the likelihood that greater crop diversity will lead to better diets and livelihoods.
Southern Africa CoP (Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania) The SAf CoP supports research on constraints to legume productivity, including foliar diseases, parasitic weeds, low availability of nitrogen and phosphorus as well as access to good quality planting seed. Recently the CoP has expanded its focus to include improvements in crop productivity and post-harvest practices; links between household food security and improved nutrition and incomes, with particular attention to the threat of aflatoxin contamination; and cross-cutting research in agriculture policy and communication.
West Africa CoP (Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger) The WAf CoP is striving to improve productivity and nutritional content of cereals (sorghum, pearl millet, and fonio) and grain legumes (cowpea, groundnut, and Bambara groundnut) as well as other traditional or introduced crops. Strengthening farming systems demands continued attention to improved soil and water conservation and agronomic management; better seed varieties and seed distribution systems; integrated pest management; strengthened and diversified value chains; improved diets and nutrition; and improved income and education for farming families.
Each CoP is supported by a regional team consisting of a regional representative, a liaison scientist, a monitoring and evaluation specialist, and a research methods specialist. The regional team's activities include support for grantmaking processes and support for funded project teams. Each regional team develops a regional analysis, strategy, and plan to inform regional grantmaking. The regional representative and liaison scientist work with potential grantees to support development of proposals. The regional team builds relationships with project teams and helps project members and other stakeholders connect to each other to foster learning and inspiration. The regional team conducts site visits and provides feedback to project teams on annual reports and project meetings. Research methods support is provided in a range of formats, including meetings with individual teams, workshops, and online forums. Similarly, integrated monitoring, evaluation, and planning support is provided through individual consultants and workshops.
Partial list of projects
Yapuchiris II http://www.ccrp.org/projects/yapuchiris-ii Water security II http://www.ccrp.org/projects/water-security-ii Sustainable Production of Quinoa http://www.ccrp.org/projects/sustainable-production-quinoa Soil nutrient budgets http://www.ccrp.org/projects/soil-nutrient-budgets Seed systems http://www.ccrp.org/projects/seed-systems-0 SANREM http://www.ccrp.org/projects/sanrem Quinoa sustainability http://www.ccrp.org/projects/quinoa-sustainability Quinoa III http://www.ccrp.org/projects/quinoa-iii Potato moth http://www.ccrp.org/projects/potato-moth Plot Diversification http://www.ccrp.org/projects/plot-diversification Organic groundnut III http://www.ccrp.org/projects/organic-groundnut-iii On-farm Conservation http://www.ccrp.org/projects/farm-conservation Nutrition support http://www.ccrp.org/projects/nutrition-support Native potato seed systems http://www.ccrp.org/projects/native-potato-seed-systems Lupin/quinoa http://www.ccrp.org/projects/lupinquinoa Local Markets Cuzco http://www.ccrp.org/projects/local-markets-cuzco Laderas http://www.ccrp.org/projects/laderas Green manures/legumes http://www.ccrp.org/projects/green-manureslegumes Food Sovereignty http://www.ccrp.org/projects/food-sovereignty Food security http://www.ccrp.org/projects/food-security Impact assessment of Quinoa http://www.ccrp.org/projects/financial-analysis-service-impact-assessment-quinoa Cover agriculture in the highland Andes http://www.ccrp.org/projects/cover-agriculture-highland-andes Community baskets II http://www.ccrp.org/projects/community-baskets-ii Communal agricultural risk management http://www.ccrp.org/projects/communal-agricultural-risk-management CLOSAN Impact Evaluation http://www.ccrp.org/projects/closan-impact-evaluation Climate risk management http://www.ccrp.org/projects/climate-risk-management Biopesticide/potato moth http://www.ccrp.org/projects/biopesticidepotato-moth Biodiversity of Andean tubers http://www.ccrp.org/projects/biodiversity-andean-tubers Biodiversity and soil conservation http://www.ccrp.org/projects/biodiversity-soil-conservation Andean pests http://www.ccrp.org/projects/andean-pests Andean Grain III http://www.ccrp.org/projects/andean-grain-iii Agrobiodiversity and Nutrition II http://www.ccrp.org/projects/agrobiodiversity-nutrition-ii Soil fertility management http://www.ccrp.org/projects/soil-fertility-management PV groundnut http://www.ccrp.org/projects/pv-groundnut P-Efficient Legumes III http://www.ccrp.org/projects/p-efficient-legumes-iii Legume Best Bets III http://www.ccrp.org/projects/legume-best-bets-iii Groundnut postharvest value chain http://www.ccrp.org/projects/groundnut-postharvest-value-chain Groundnut Breeding III http://www.ccrp.org/projects/groundnut-breeding-iii Cowpea resistance to Alectra II http://www.ccrp.org/projects/cowpea-resistance-alectra-ii Cowpea Alectra III http://www.ccrp.org/projects/cowpea-alectra-iii Climbing Beans II http://www.ccrp.org/projects/climbing-beans-ii Bruchid management II http://www.ccrp.org/projects/bruchid-management-ii Botanical pesticides/legumes http://www.ccrp.org/projects/botanical-pesticideslegumes Bean Seed Delivery II http://www.ccrp.org/projects/bean-seed-delivery-ii Bambara Groundnut III http://www.ccrp.org/projects/bambara-groundnuts-iii Women ag production systems http://www.ccrp.org/projects/women%E2%80%99s-ag-production-systems Technology Introduction http://www.ccrp.org/projects/technology-introduction Sorghum/millet improvement II http://www.ccrp.org/projects/sorghummillet-improvement-ii Sorghum and millet improvement http://www.ccrp.org/projects/sorghum-millet-improvement Soil and water conservation http://www.ccrp.org/projects/soil-water-conservation Seed Systems Niger http://www.ccrp.org/projects/seed-systems-niger Seed Systems III http://www.ccrp.org/projects/seed-systems-iii Pathways to AEI http://www.ccrp.org/projects/pathways-aei P-efficient cowpea http://www.ccrp.org/projects/p-efficient-cowpea Grain Processing IV http://www.ccrp.org/projects/grain-processing-iv Grain legumes http://www.ccrp.org/projects/grain-legumes GIMEM III http://www.ccrp.org/projects/gimem-iii Fonio III http://www.ccrp.org/projects/fonio-iii Farmer-Led Research Networks http://www.ccrp.org/projects/farmer-led-research-networks Farmer-led AEI in Burkina Faso http://www.ccrp.org/projects/farmer-led-agroecological-intensification-burkina-faso Farmer Knowledge http://www.ccrp.org/projects/farmer-knowledge Dual-Purpose Sorghum and Cowpeas http://www.ccrp.org/projects/dual-purpose-sorghum-cowpeas Bambara Nut II & III http://www.ccrp.org/projects/bambara-nut-ii-iii Bambara groundnut productivity http://www.ccrp.org/projects/bambara-groundnut-productivity
References
Further reading Collaborative Crop Research Program Website CCRP brochure Manning, Richard, Food's Frontier: The Next Green Revolution, North Point Press, 2000,
External links Collaborative Crop Research Program Website The McKnight Foundation The McKnight Foundation Crop Research Program