Responsible Scaling for Impact: Inclusion and Power in Food, Land and Water Systems

How can agricultural research for development (AR4D) move beyond pilots to deliver sustainable and equitable impact at scale? Despite abundant innovations, benefits remain uneven, especially for women, youth, and marginalized producers facing structural barriers to assets, markets, and climate information. AR4D must co-create context- specific innovation bundles (technologies, services, finance, and policy), rigorously de-risk adoption, and strengthen inclusive market and institutional pathways. The challenge is to align incentives across public, private, and civic actors so that scaling improves livelihoods and resilience without reinforcing inequalities.

Authors: Erin McGuire, Ashley Mutiso, Eva Valenca Lenoro, Hannah Ewell, Ojongetakah Enokenwa Baa, Dorcas Sanginga Alame, Ana Maria Paez-Valencia, Julie Newton, Anne Rietveld, Karen Nortje, Lena Keller-Bischoff, and Mastewal Yami