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Multi-stakeholder platforms have become mainstream in projects, programmes and policy interventions aiming to improve innovation and livelihoods systems, i.e. research for development interventions in low- and middle-income contexts. However, the evidence for multistakeholder platforms’ contribution to the performance of research for development interventions and their added value is not compelling. This paper focuses on stakeholder participation as one of the channels for multi-stakeholder platforms’ contribution to the performance of research for development interventions, i.e. stakeholder participation. It uses a quantitative approach and utilizes descriptive statistics and ARIMA models. It shows that, in three Ugandan multi-stakeholder platform cases studied, participation increased both in nominal and in unique terms. Moreover, participation was rather cyclical and fluctuated during the implementation of the research for development interventions. The study also shows that, in addition to locational and intervention factors such as type of the area along a rural–urban gradient targeted by the intervention and human resources provided for multi-stakeholder platform implementation, temporal elements such as phases of research for development intervention objectives and the innovation development process play significant roles in influencing participation. The study concludes that contribution of multi-stakeholder platforms to the performance of research for development projects, programs, policies and other initiatives is constrained by locational and temporal context and conditional on the participation requirements of the objectives pursued by research for development intervention.

Vegetatively propagated crop (VPC) seed tends to remain true to varietal type but is bulky, often carries disease, and is slow to produce. So VPC seed needs to be handled differently than that of other crops, e.g., it tends to be sourced locally, often must be fresh, and it is less often sold on the market. Hence, a framework was adapted to describe and support interventions in such seed systems. The framework was used with 13 case studies to understand VPC seed systems for roots, tubers, and bananas, including differing roles and sometimes conflicting goals of stakeholders, and to identify potential coordination breakdowns when actors fail to develop a shared understanding and vision. In this article, we review those case studies. The framework is a critical tool to (a) document VPC seed systems and build evidence; (b) diagnose and treat coordination breakdown and (c) guide decision-makers and donors on the design of more sustainable seed system interventions for VPCs. The framework can be used to analyze past interventions and will be useful for planning future VPC seed programs.

The CGIAR Research Program (CRP) on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB) includes vegetatively propagated staple crops linked by common breeding, seed, and postharvest issues, and by the frequency with which women are involved in their production and use. RTB crops are the backbone of food security across the humid tropics in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and in more localized areas of Asia and Latin America. Around 300 million poor people in developing countries currently depend on RTB value chains for food security, nutrition and income. Climate change poses challenges which could undo progress in poverty reduction and markedly increase food insecurity. This article examines planning and research for climate resilience across RTB crops, with a particular focus on the contrasting potato and sweet potato cases in SSA. A six-step framework for climatesmart breeding is proposed: (1) downscaling climate change models and crop modeling; (2) identifying and understanding key climate change responsive traits; (3) breeding and varietal selection; (4) phenotyping and genomic research to accelerate gains; (5) developing management options for climate-smart varieties; and (6) deployment (seed systems). In summary, climate-smart breeding means we need to do what we already do but faster, better, and smarter.

PR, IFPRI1; CRP2; C Improving markets and trade, MTID; PIM, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM), Chapter 7 (Devaux et al.) analyzes the work of the International Potato Center’s (CIP) Papa Andina regional network in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru. This work sought to capitalize on the genetic diversity of native potatoes grown in remote mountainous areas, as well as on the social capital and local knowledge of the smallholders who have cultivated them for centuries—assets that are often undervalued. An action–research approach, known as the Participatory Market Chain Approach (PMCA), was developed, which engages smallholders, market agents, researchers, and agricultural service providers to jointly identify market opportunities and to foster the commercial, technological, and institutional innovation needed to exploit these opportunities. This approach, developed and first applied in potato value chains in the Andes, has now been shared, tested, and applied successfully in other value chains and other regions (Mayanja et al. 2012; Horton et al. 2013).

PR, IFPRI1; CRP2; C Improving markets and trade, MTID; PIM, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM), The authors of Chapter 12 (Cavatassi et al.) performed an ex-post evaluation using econometric techniques common in impact evaluations. They assessed whether participation in Ecuador’s Plataformas program, which establishes alliances between small-scale farmers and a range of agricultural support-service providers, had any effect on income. The chapter finds that the program had a positive impact on yields, prices, and gross margins. The authors conducted baseline household and community surveys in two Ecuadorean provinces and then identified treatment communities. Using data from the most recent census, they constructed a counterfactual control group with similar geographical, agroecological, and sociodemographic characteristics to the treatment communities. They then used PSM to identify which control communities were most similar to each treatment community. In addition to creating control communities, they also factored in households in treatment communities that did not participate in the program. The PSM procedure allowed the authors to select a control community that was very similar to each treatment community in all observable aspects except for the treatment status, thus providing a proper counterfactual for each treatment community.

PR, IFPRI1; CRP2; C Improving markets and trade, MTID; PIM, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM), Chapter 13 (Horton et al.) tries to assess the impact of a PMCA. The chapter provides a clear example in which neither experimental nor quasi-experimental approaches could be implemented. In PMCA, practitioners gather various market-chain actors together to brainstorm ideas for new agricultural products and better ways to market existing crops. PMCA was created both to link smallholders to markets through innovation, and to evaluate participatory interventions. Chapter 13 (Horton et al.) evaluates eight PMCA interventions, four of which they exclude from in-depth analysis because of significant departures from the PMCA protocol.

PR, IFPRI1; CRP2; C Improving markets and trade, MTID; PIM, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM), Analyses of work in the Andes (Chapter 8; Cavatassi et al. 2011) indicate that platforms that bring stakeholders together around value chains can result in new products, processes, norms, and behaviors that benefit poor farmers in ways that would not have been achieved otherwise.

Non-PR, IFPRI1; Theme 3; CAPRi, EPTD, The Andean highlands are home to some of the poorest rural households in South America. Native potato varieties and local knowledge for their cultivation and use are unique resources possessed by farmers in these areas. As the forces of globalization and market integration penetrate the Andes, they present both challenges and opportunities for farmers there. This paper reports on how the Papa Andina Regional Initiative is promoting the use of collective action to reduce poverty in the Andes, by developing market niches and adding value to potatoes, particularly the native potatoes grown by poor farmers. Since 1998, Papa Andina has worked with partners in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru to stimulate pro-poor innovation within market chains for potato-based products. Market chain actors (including small-scale potato producers, traders, and processors), researchers, and other service providers have engaged in innovation processes via two principal tools for facilitating collective action: the Participatory Market Chain Approach (PMCA) and Stakeholder Platforms. The PMCA fosters commercial, technological, and institutional innovation through a structured process that builds interest, trust, and collaboration among participants. Stakeholder Platforms provide a space for potato producers, other market chain actors, and service providers to come together to identify their common interests, share knowledge, and develop joint activities. The PMCA and Stakeholder Platforms have empowered Andean potato farmers by expanding their knowledge of markets, market agents, and business opportunities. Social networks built up among producers, market agents, and service providers have stimulated commercial innovation, which in turn has stimulated technical and institutional innovation. These innovations have allowed small farmers to market their potatoes on more favorable terms and other market chain actors to increase their incomes. This paper describes experiences with collective action in