Contributions

Table 6: Assumptions underpinning the impact pathway

Assumptions underpinning impact pathway logic
SLOs	Improved GLDC production and farming systems practices in target countries will reduce poverty and enhance food and nutrition security for women and men.
IDOs	Strengthened governance, stakeholder collaboration and improved public and private investment decisions strengthen the adaptive capacity of agri-food systems to respond to the evolving needs of women and men GLDC farmers (e.g. market access, productivity and income).
CRP Outcomes	Technological, institutional and policy solutions that respond to emerging challenges and farmers’ needs can be identified, prioritized and developed through inter- and transdisciplinary research. Researchers will work closely with development partners and stakeholders to maintain ownership, access research sites and data, and to forge agreements. Modeling the leverage points and sequences of interventions (FP1) will encourage the farmers, NARES, entrepreneurs, NGOs and public agencies to experiment with novel technologies and social practices (FP2,3,4). Improved effectiveness of value chains through technical, institutional and policy innovation creates incentives for farmer technology adoption and improves market access. The combined insights of multi-actor experiments will create replicable GLDC-models and tangible scaling strategies. Informed by the outcomes of the strategic experiments, the coupling of technological, institutional and policy solutions will enable adoption of improved GLDC farming system practices (FP2, 3). Capacity gaps within the GLDC agri-food system that inhibit responses to farmer and market demand and adoption of technological and institutional innovations can be identified and resolved. Improved GLDC production and farming systems practices in target countries (FP3) will improve agricultural sustainability and enhance food and nutrition security for women and men and market actors through value addition. Findings from research, coupled with engagement mechanisms, can help decision-making of key stakeholders and agri-food systems governance arrangements can be developed that align stakeholder investment towards food and nutritional security, poverty reduction and resilience.
	Public and private stakeholders will continue to invest in the maintenance and development of the agri-food system in the long term. Collaboration with local, regional and global umbrella organizations — e.g. RUFORUM, AWARD, YPARD — will be crucial for program success, both in terms of prioritizing and scaling of outcomes

GLDC will contribute to the SRF through two distinct impact pathways. In the first pathway (Figure 5, ‘integrative solutions’, left-hand side of the impact pathway diagram), research will lead to household level outcomes by developing integrated technological, institutional and policy solutions with key partners. Inter-and transdisciplinary research will connect component solutions; notably improved varieties and hybrids (FP4, FP5), seed delivery systems (FP4), inclusive agribusiness models (FP2), modern agronomic practices (FP3), and policy platforms (FP1). Research evidence will help unlock opportunities through consideration of crop, livestock, tree, household, farm, value chain and institutional contributions and their interdependency (Figure 5). The GLDC consortium will work towards increased protein availability from legumes and reduced risk of hunger season through diversifying crop and duration of varieties. Further, improved feed and fodder for livestock-based protein will be an immediate benefit. Specific emphasis will be given to shifting consumption of pulses from an export to a value addition opportunity for local consumption through mechanization of processing to reduce drudgery and increase consumption through convenience and increased unit price for processed, cleaned and graded products. Here, FP1 will identify the right leverage points (desired breeding traits, market preferences and resolvable value chain bottlenecks) developed in FP2-5 (Figure 5). The underlying rationale is that, if trait discovery and variety development (FP4, FP5) respond to current and future needs of farmers and consumers (FP1, FP3), and if business and value chain innovation (FP2) create market incentives, farmers will adopt GLDC technologies. Feedback loops between the different FPs accelerate solution development, and participation of targeted stakeholders guarantees solutions based on end-user demands. Across FP1, FP2 and FP4, experiments achieve robust ‘proof of concept’ strategies.

Along the second impact pathway (Figure 5, ‘scaling and sustaining’, right-hand side of the impact pathway diagram), GLDC will use insights from strategic niche management theories^73,74 to implement five mechanisms for working with ‘change agents’ to address agri-food system-barriers and secure sustainable outcomes. Firstly, GLDC informs the work of policy-makers, development NGOs and private sector actors by documenting realized and high-probability impacts from intervention scenarios. Secondly, linkages, partnerships, platforms and relationships across stakeholder groupings will contribute to improved governance arrangements and system capacities. This includes collaboration with multi-lateral organizations, such as the African Union and the Committee of World Food Security (CFS), lobbying and advocacy and engaging in institutional reforms. Thirdly, capacity development leads to outcomes that can be repeated and strengthened, contributing to more responsive agri-food systems. Fourthly, researchers develop general principles on how to strengthen the capacity of agri-food systems, e.g. through the development of inclusive investment mechanisms which can be applied to other contexts. Finally, agri-food system change happens through replication of successful initiatives developed under the different FPs (e.g. through market signal crowding in further business and farmer investments). Transformation will take place through incubated initiatives that gradually start changing institutions and discovering new markets.

Consideration of gender and youth as catalysts of change throughout all FP activities contributes to impact acceleration, on one hand due to the prominent role of women in GLDC cultivation and otherwise through engagement of future pioneers paving the way toward more sustainable GLDC farming and agri-food systems.