Innovation platforms in practice: lessons learned from SARD-SC wheat initiative in Ethiopia, Nigeria and Sudan

Abstract

Support to Agricultural Research for Development of Strategic Crops in Africa (SARD – SC) is a multi-national initiative led by the CGIAR and funded by the African Development Bank. With an aim to enhance food and nutritional security, as well as reduced poverty across sub-Saharan Africa, the specific focus is on improving productivity and profitability of four strategic commodities which have been prioritized by heads of a number of African states: cassava, maize, rice and wheat. This report concentrates on activities related to wheat under the SARD – SC initiative, led by the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), and specifically in terms of a review of the innovation platforms that have been operationalized within the three hub countries of Ethiopia, Nigeria and Sudan.