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Outcomes for MAIZE as a whole shown in the Program Impact Pathway will include:
The use and adaptation of research products by national partners to local conditions; the adoption
of new tools, methods and institutional innovations by extension staff, NGOs and governments to
better target the poor and deliver information to farmers.
Use of innovative value chains by private sector and agro‐dealers to develop the delivery of
improved seeds, fertilizers and markets for maize farmers.
Changes in know‐how, capacity and attitudes by local partners in maize technology generation;
targeting of subsistence farmers, especially women.
The key factors that determine adoption by farmers and diffusion of research products will include
farmers' access to new information and awareness; expected benefits and local availability of new
technologies; market access and opportunities (performance of input and output value chains); and
access to credit and other policies to enable farmer investment in new technologies. Effective researchfor‐
development partnerships and linkages in the impact pathway ensure that various local
development partners will facilitate farmer access to information and innovations to stimulate adoption
and scaling up of successful options.
Wider adoption of the outputs by the farmers will lead to first order impacts, which will include
production/productivity increases, more resilient and nutritious maize production, sustainability of
farm‐level production, higher profitability of maize, and higher farmer income. Stronger maize value
chains will lead to enhanced local capacity to manage production and market risks, market opportunities
and employment. Focused gender and capacity building activities will lead to increased national capacity
for technological and institutional innovations and accelerated translation of outputs to impact.
Second order impacts include enhanced food security of farmers, increased cash incomes of farmers,
stable and lower food prices, increased non‐food resources for consumers, and increased agroecosystem
productivity and health. They will progressively lead to macro level economic, social and
environmental impacts that contribute to sustainable intensification, poverty reduction and food
security, even in the face of climate change and population growth.
The first and second order impacts are summarized diagrammatically in Figure 7. Data indicate that
most MAIZE (and international agricultural) research outputs (technologies, know‐how, policies,
capacity building) impact farmers and consumers through work with government and non‐government
organizations, and also agribusiness—even though know‐how may be scaled out to farmers directly
through field days or new information and communication technologies.
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