Disentangling Challenges to Scaling Alternate Wetting and Drying Technology for Rice Cultivation: Distilling Lessons From 20 Years of Experience in the Philippines

Alternate wetting and drying (AWD) is a low-cost innovation that enables farmers to adapt to increasingly water scarcity conditions (such as drought), increase overall farm production efficiency, and mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It is seen as a pathway for transforming agri-food systems...

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Main Authors: Yuji Enriquez, Sudhir Yadav, Gio Karlo Evangelista, Donald Villanueva, Mary Ann Burac, Valerien Pede
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-06-01
Series:Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.675818/full
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spelling doaj-56c0cd3f82e0431b8843c6c8186eea742021-06-21T08:15:52ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems2571-581X2021-06-01510.3389/fsufs.2021.675818675818Disentangling Challenges to Scaling Alternate Wetting and Drying Technology for Rice Cultivation: Distilling Lessons From 20 Years of Experience in the PhilippinesYuji Enriquez0Sudhir Yadav1Gio Karlo Evangelista2Donald Villanueva3Mary Ann Burac4Valerien Pede5Impact Evaluation, Policy and Foresight Unit, International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, PhilippinesSoil, Water and Environment Unit, Sustainable Impact Platform, International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, PhilippinesSoil, Water and Environment Unit, Sustainable Impact Platform, International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, PhilippinesImpact Evaluation, Policy and Foresight Unit, International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, PhilippinesSoil, Water and Environment Unit, Sustainable Impact Platform, International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, PhilippinesImpact Evaluation, Policy and Foresight Unit, International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, PhilippinesAlternate wetting and drying (AWD) is a low-cost innovation that enables farmers to adapt to increasingly water scarcity conditions (such as drought), increase overall farm production efficiency, and mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It is seen as a pathway for transforming agri-food systems into more resilient, productive, biologically diverse, and equitable forms, ensuring our commitments to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper uses scaling up and innovation uncertainty frameworks to review the success and challenges of AWD's 20-year scaling trajectory in the Philippines and explain the key factors that have influenced its outcomes. The framework adapted for this study is also used to examine the fitness between the scaling context and requirements, organizational mission, and corresponding capabilities. Findings show the innovation platform that vertically integrated key actors and locally adapted AWD has helped foster essential breakthroughs in creating an enabling environment that took AWD to national policy adoption in the Philippines. However, the dominant focus on technology transfer, product focus, and preference for controlled environments in the scaling practice has neglected many important contextual factors, allowing mismatches in enabling policy incentives, institutions, and scale to diminish the impacts of AWD in gravity-based systems. Our findings suggest that rethinking and re-envisioning the ways in which the impact can be scaled in irrigation rice systems using AWD is critical to sustaining food security and making the agriculture sector more resilient to climate change.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.675818/fullscaling strategiesdiffusion of innovationsimpactclimate mitigation and adaptationinnovation systemswater management
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Yuji Enriquez
Sudhir Yadav
Gio Karlo Evangelista
Donald Villanueva
Mary Ann Burac
Valerien Pede
spellingShingle Yuji Enriquez
Sudhir Yadav
Gio Karlo Evangelista
Donald Villanueva
Mary Ann Burac
Valerien Pede
Disentangling Challenges to Scaling Alternate Wetting and Drying Technology for Rice Cultivation: Distilling Lessons From 20 Years of Experience in the Philippines
Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
scaling strategies
diffusion of innovations
impact
climate mitigation and adaptation
innovation systems
water management
author_facet Yuji Enriquez
Sudhir Yadav
Gio Karlo Evangelista
Donald Villanueva
Mary Ann Burac
Valerien Pede
author_sort Yuji Enriquez
title Disentangling Challenges to Scaling Alternate Wetting and Drying Technology for Rice Cultivation: Distilling Lessons From 20 Years of Experience in the Philippines
title_short Disentangling Challenges to Scaling Alternate Wetting and Drying Technology for Rice Cultivation: Distilling Lessons From 20 Years of Experience in the Philippines
title_full Disentangling Challenges to Scaling Alternate Wetting and Drying Technology for Rice Cultivation: Distilling Lessons From 20 Years of Experience in the Philippines
title_fullStr Disentangling Challenges to Scaling Alternate Wetting and Drying Technology for Rice Cultivation: Distilling Lessons From 20 Years of Experience in the Philippines
title_full_unstemmed Disentangling Challenges to Scaling Alternate Wetting and Drying Technology for Rice Cultivation: Distilling Lessons From 20 Years of Experience in the Philippines
title_sort disentangling challenges to scaling alternate wetting and drying technology for rice cultivation: distilling lessons from 20 years of experience in the philippines
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
series Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
issn 2571-581X
publishDate 2021-06-01
description Alternate wetting and drying (AWD) is a low-cost innovation that enables farmers to adapt to increasingly water scarcity conditions (such as drought), increase overall farm production efficiency, and mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It is seen as a pathway for transforming agri-food systems into more resilient, productive, biologically diverse, and equitable forms, ensuring our commitments to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper uses scaling up and innovation uncertainty frameworks to review the success and challenges of AWD's 20-year scaling trajectory in the Philippines and explain the key factors that have influenced its outcomes. The framework adapted for this study is also used to examine the fitness between the scaling context and requirements, organizational mission, and corresponding capabilities. Findings show the innovation platform that vertically integrated key actors and locally adapted AWD has helped foster essential breakthroughs in creating an enabling environment that took AWD to national policy adoption in the Philippines. However, the dominant focus on technology transfer, product focus, and preference for controlled environments in the scaling practice has neglected many important contextual factors, allowing mismatches in enabling policy incentives, institutions, and scale to diminish the impacts of AWD in gravity-based systems. Our findings suggest that rethinking and re-envisioning the ways in which the impact can be scaled in irrigation rice systems using AWD is critical to sustaining food security and making the agriculture sector more resilient to climate change.
topic scaling strategies
diffusion of innovations
impact
climate mitigation and adaptation
innovation systems
water management
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.675818/full
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