CoProdScope is a digital tool designed for agricultural advisors that aims to help agropastoralists in the savannah areas of sub-Saharan Africa to enhance the value of their crop (straw, haulm, stalks) and livestock (solid manure) by-products. It is an assessment and advisory tool for the management of by-products in order to optimize resource use and promote agroecological intensification of agropastoral farms.

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The first teaching experiment is underway in Northern Cameroon; news about this experiment will be available soon.

This tool was used as a practical exercise as part of the two-week intensive course Farming Systems and Rural Livelihoods Analysis, a specialized course in systems science organized in Malawi by CGIAR in collaboration with Wageningen University. Designed for PhD students, the course combined theoretical sessions with practical exercises focused on the analysis of farming systems and rural livelihoods. As part of the practical work, participants were divided into four groups, each bringing together participants from different nationalities and disciplinary backgrounds. Each group worked in a different location, representing contrasting farming systems shaped by differences in agroecological conditions, institutional contexts, and market environments. An overview of the course and the different modules taught is available in the “Capacity Development” section.

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This type of analyse was used as a practical exercise as part of the two-week intensive course Farming Systems and Rural Livelihoods Analysis, a specialized course in systems science organized in Malawi by CGIAR in collaboration with Wageningen University. Designed for PhD students, the course combined theoretical sessions with practical exercises focused on the analysis of farming systems and rural livelihoods. As part of the practical work, participants were divided into four groups, each bringing together participants from different nationalities and disciplinary backgrounds. Each group worked in a different location, representing contrasting farming systems shaped by differences in agroecological conditions, institutional contexts, and market environments. An overview of the course and the different modules taught is available in the “Capacity Development” section.

Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and semi-structured interviews enable researchers to understand farmers’ perspectives and knowledge, decision-making processes, and lived experiences.
FGDs allow collective reflection among participants and reveal shared norms, divergent views, and community dynamics.
Interviews, by contrast, provide deeper insights into individual experiences, sensitive topics, or issues influenced by power relations within communities.

Feedback on teaching experience

This tool was used as a practical exercise as part of the two-week intensive course Farming Systems and Rural Livelihoods Analysis, a specialized course in systems science organized in Malawi by CGIAR in collaboration with Wageningen University. Designed for PhD students, the course combined theoretical sessions with practical exercises focused on the analysis of farming systems and rural livelihoods. As part of the practical work, participants were divided into four groups, each bringing together participants from different nationalities and disciplinary backgrounds. Each group worked in a different location, representing contrasting farming systems shaped by differences in agroecological conditions, institutional contexts, and market environments. An overview of the course and the different modules taught is available in the “Capacity Development” section.

Developing high-quality research questions is central to rigorous study design. In mixed methods research—where qualitative and quantitative approaches are integrated—the research question must guide theoretical framing, data collection, and analytic strategy simultaneously. Poorly formulated questions lead to fragmented methods and weak conclusions.

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This method was introduced as part of the two-week intensive course Farming Systems and Rural Livelihoods Analysis, a specialized course in systems science organized in Malawi by CGIAR in collaboration with Wageningen University. Designed for PhD students, the course combined theoretical and methodological sessions focused on the analysis of farming systems and rural livelihoods. The tool was presented within this theoretical framework as a method for understanding and analysing farming systems and rural livelihoods. The course brought together participants from different nationalities and disciplinary backgrounds, who were divided into four groups working in different locations representing contrasting farming systems shaped by differences in agroecological conditions, institutional contexts, and market environments. An overview of the course and the different modules taught is available in the “Capacity Development” section.

This work applies system science principles through the use of stakeholder-based Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping (FCM). It allows for a holistic understanding of how social, economic, and environmental variables interact, enabling the exploration of dynamic feedbacks and potential unintended consequences. In this context, FCM served as a valuable tool to simulate alternative policy and behavioural scenarios, identify leverage points, and support more informed decision-making for sustainable water reuse in agriculture.

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The paper has been used to teach ‘Agrarian Bioeconomy’, a second-year subject of the bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Sciences and Bioeconomy at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Specifically, it was included in Topic 2: Analysis of Bioeconomic Systems, where was introduced the concept of systems and the analysis of systemic relationships. The Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs) application presented in the article was used as a practical example. Students were asked to read and critically comment on the paper.

This document presents integrated modeling methods for assessing the response of agricultural systems to scenarios combining innovation and policy. The approach considers the farm system as a key level with its interactions with dow-level (the fields) and up -levels (the landcape and markets). Farm diversity in the landscape is modelled with typologies. Farm and field behaviours and performances are simulated respectivelly with farm models and crop models and a set of indicators. The document also stress the importance of participatory modeling, involving local stakeholders in the design of scenarios and selection of assessment indicators. Finally, concrete case studies illustrate how these methodological frameworks help predict the adoption of new practices and the impact of policies while measuring socio-economic and environmental trade-offs.

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This course was given during 10 years (2008 to 2018) to Master Students at l'institut Agro Montpellier. I will be happy to collaborate with colleagues who want to develop similar course (in english or french).

Smallholder households often combine crop and livestock production with wage labor, petty trade, migration, and remittances in diversified livelihood portfolios. This diversification is both a risk management strategy and a response to structural constraints such as imperfect markets, climatic variability, and limited access to capital and services.
Understanding smallholder livelihoods therefore requires moving beyond plot-level agronomy or single-enterprise profitability. It demands a farm household perspective that integrates production, consumption, labor allocation, and income generation under multiple constraints.

Feedback on teaching experience

This type of analysis was used as a practical exercise as part of the two-week intensive course Farming Systems and Rural Livelihoods Analysis, a specialized course in systems science organized in Malawi by CGIAR in collaboration with Wageningen University. Designed for PhD students, the course combined theoretical sessions with practical exercises focused on the analysis of farming systems and rural livelihoods. As part of the practical work, participants were divided into four groups, each bringing together participants from different nationalities and disciplinary backgrounds. Each group worked in a different location, representing contrasting farming systems shaped by differences in agroecological conditions, institutional contexts, and market environments. An overview of the course and the different modules taught is available in the “Capacity Development” section.

Livestock systems analysis
incorporates multifunctionality, herd dynamics, feeding, nutrient cycling, and household decision-making. Field-based observations, combined with systematic analysis of herd or flock structure and management practices, enable diagnosis of constraints and identification of opportunities for more sustainable farming systems.

Feedback on teaching experience

This type of analysis was used as a practical exercise as part of the two-week intensive course Farming Systems and Rural Livelihoods Analysis, a specialized course in systems science organized in Malawi by CGIAR and Wageningen University. Designed for PhD students, the course combined theoretical sessions with practical exercises focused on the analysis of farming systems and rural livelihoods. As part of the practical work, participants were divided into four groups, each bringing together participants from different nationalities and disciplinary backgrounds. Each group worked in a different location, representing contrasting farming systems shaped by differences in agroecological conditions, institutional contexts, and market environments. An overview of the course and the different modules taught is available in the “Capacity Development” section.

Ce memento est destiné aux étudiants en Sciences Agronomiques pour leur permettre d’acquérir et d’utiliser les concepts de base nécessaires à la compréhension des enseignements (cours, TD, rapports) d’Agronomie Systémique (AS).
Comme toute discipline scientifique l’AS peut se définir par ses concepts, ses méthodes et outils et les différentes postures avec lesquelles on les met en œuvre sur des objets et à des échelles spécifiques. Le document est organisé autour de ces différentes facettes de la discipline. La démarche systémique utilisée est basée sur l’analyse des relations structure-fonctions-flux dans les systèmes complexes dynamiques décrite dans un autre document d’enseignement (Wery, 2017 ; Démarche de conceptualisation d’un problème en système en Agriculture).

Les concepts et méthodes présentés peuvent s’appliquer à toutes les formes d’agriculture (intensive en intrants de synthèse, intensive en travail, agroécologique, biologique, de conservation, agroforesterie…), dans tous les secteurs de production (grandes cultures, maraichage, arboriculture, viticulture, fourrages…) et dans toutes les régions (tempérée, méditerranéenne, tropicale…).

Les mots entre guillemets sont la traduction anglaise des termes.

Moving research from on-station to on-farm settings changes both its purpose and its representativeness. On-farm trials require deliberate choices about location, participating farmers, and treatments, and researchers must explicitly define the external validity of their findings — that is, the scope of environments and farm types to which results can reasonably be generalised. On-farm trials are also frequently used as an extension method, often incorporating a "farmer practice" treatment as the control against which new practices are compared.

Feedback on teaching experience

This tool was introduced as part of the two-week intensive course Farming Systems and Rural Livelihoods Analysis, a specialized course in systems science organized in Malawi by CGIAR in collaboration with Wageningen University. Designed for PhD students, the course combined theoretical and methodological sessions focused on the analysis of farming systems and rural livelihoods. The tool was presented within this theoretical framework as a method for understanding and analysing farming systems and rural livelihoods. The course brought together participants from different nationalities and disciplinary backgrounds, who were divided into four groups working in different locations representing contrasting farming systems shaped by differences in agroecological conditions, institutional contexts, and market environments. An overview of the course and the different modules taught is available in the “Capacity Development” section.

Problem trees are a structured analytical tool used to unpack complex development problems by mapping hierarchical cause–effect relationships. It is widely used in participatory research, systems analysis, and development programs because it helps move from a broad issue to a structured understanding of causal layers.

Feedback on teaching experience

This tool was introduced as part of the two-week intensive course Farming Systems and Rural Livelihoods Analysis, a specialized course in systems science organized in Malawi by CGIAR in collaboration with Wageningen University. Designed for PhD students, the course combined theoretical and methodological sessions focused on the analysis of farming systems and rural livelihoods. The tool was presented within this theoretical framework as a method for understanding and analysing farming systems and rural livelihoods. The course brought together participants from different nationalities and disciplinary backgrounds, who were divided into four groups working in different locations representing contrasting farming systems shaped by differences in agroecological conditions, institutional contexts, and market environments. An overview of the course and the different modules taught is available in the “Capacity Development” section.

Manual to develop farm household typologies using R based on Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical Clustering (HC)