The DONATA project was successfully implemented in 5 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda) to improve livelihoods and increase economic growth for resource poor farmers. DONATA worked through multi-stakeholder platforms including National Agriculture Research Institutes (NARIs), non-governmental organizations, community based organizations, farmer organizations, private sector, public sector extension agents and universities. The project approach was based on the establishment of multi-stakeholder platforms referred to as Innovation Platforms for Technology Adoption (IPTAs). These acted as an institutional mechanism to bring together di”erent stakeholders for the scaling out and up of OFSP technologies along the value chain. Members of the IPTAs worked together at district level to increase production, consumption and marketing of pro-vitamin A-rich orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) fresh roots, planting material (vines) and processed products. These partnerships were gradually consolidated into twenty functioning IPTAs that successfully promoted and disseminated OFSP technologies and innovations within and beyond the project areas across the five countries. When the project started there was little experience and practical guidance on how to translate the theory and concepts of innovations systems into operational models in a context of limited policy support, infrastructure and communications. The combination of training on technical topics, provision of soft skills and access to a range of technologies came together to contribute to strengthened capacities among both different types of value chain actors and the IPTA as a whole. At the IPTA level this can be seen in the different ways the IPTAs responded to their local conditions, evolved and matured.  

Project Leader: Margaret McEwan

Project Members: Lydia Kimenye