Strengthening farmer-researcher partnerships and joint action for collective power
Description
The Partnerships for Diversity (P4D) initiative is a coordination effort between CIRAD, Oxfam Novib and more than forty organizations in East and West Africa, supported by the Global Collaboration for Resilient Food Systems (CRFS) program of the McKnight Foundation. It aims at testing innovative collaboration models and tools for scaling equitable partnerships between farmers and researchers. A special focus of the initiative is on agrobiodiversity and farmer managed seed systems, and on how these can foster the agroecological transition and ultimately support long-term resilience for smallholder farmers.
P4D is currently in its one-year pilot phase (2025-2026), which is the result of an earlier exploratory phase that started in 2021 through a number of workshops that brought together local CSOs and researchers from East and West Africa. Thanks to these gatherings, stakeholders identified the need to further develop locally led solutions to address seed system challenges, strengthen connections among farmers and between farmers and researchers, and work towards increased autonomy and self-determination.
P4D is the result of those sessions. In its current pilot phase, it is organized around five thematic pathways, each led by a local facilitator or lead. Each pathway is envisioned as a space to connect stakeholders, promote inclusive decision-making, and amplify smallholder farmers’ voices.
Pathways:
Pathway 1: Collaborative research for agrobiodiversity management led by Fredrick Dumisani Sanga
Pathway 2: Local value chain development led by Kassari Ango Issoufou
Pathway 3: Data management and sharing led by Gorgui Alioune Mbow
Pathway 4: Advocacy and policy work led by Anna Ruyondo Kabahukya & Charles Opiyo
Pathway 5: Gender and social inclusion led by Yalaly Traoré
Partners
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CCRP Mcknight Foundation -
AFSA -
CICOD Malawi -
Oxfam -
IFAD -
Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Events
Incorporating gender and social inclusion into projects
Date: 10.00-11.30 (CET) 17 February
Strengthening farmer managed seed systems through seed multiplication and community seed banks
Date: 10.00-11.00 (CAT) 5 December
Zoom details: P4D Webinar. Pathway 1.
Linking value chain chains actors for better profit
Date: 9.00-10.00 (GMT) 20 November
Zoom details: P4D Webinar. Pathway 2. Value chains
News
P4D Update Webinar (2 October 2025)
To share the outcomes of the 4-day gathering in Burkina Faso, an update webinar was organized on the 2nd of October for P4D community members. These included diagnostics of the P4D survey, fundraising opportunities, strengthening farmer-research collaboration, and upcoming activities per pathway.
F2F Meeting Burkina Faso (September-October 2025)
From the 29th of September until the 2nd of October, Pathway Leads, and the P4D Secretariat gathered in Burkina Faso to evaluate the activities conducted over the past months and discuss next steps, with a special focus on joint proposal writing, sharing of materials for the P4D online repository and pathway specific activities for the end of 2025.
Diagnostics Survey (launched September 2025)
In September 2025, a survey targeting the P4D community was launched, to gather baseline information about the state of the art across all five thematic pathways, highlight challenges and needs (in terms of capacity, funding, policy), and identify collaboration and joint funding opportunities. 24 organizations from eight countries responded to a survey among P4D members representing a diverse set of stakeholders within the P4D community.
Pilot phase Kick off (July 2025)
The kick-off meeting was organized though two plenary sessions, and a breakout group session in between. In the first plenary, Oxfam and CIRAD staff presented the pilot phase of the project, recalling the process (2020-2024) which led to the development of this current phase and describing the result framework and the management structure. Special focus was placed on the partner-led nature of the initiative and on the description of the five thematic pathways the project is built around. The role and responsibilities of pathway-leads, as well as the selection criteria and application process were described.
Burkina Faso Workshop (March 2023)
A landmark gathering in Ouagadougou brought together 30 representatives from farmer organizations, research institutions, NGOs, and seed producers across Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Senegal. This meeting set the stage and the thematic focus for the current pilot phase.
Newsletters
In July 2025, we introduced our first monthly newsletter. The newsletter includes P4D community updates, resources along the topics of the five pathways, fundraising opportunities, and global events organized on food systems, seeds, and other related topics.
Knowledge repository
In this space (work in progress), you will find a continuously updated collection of documents including practical tools, participatory methodologies, and publications within the topics of the five P4D pathways. The repository will be connected to the FAO AE knowledge hub through re-posting of the material for a wider reach and greater visibility.
